Effect of melt annealing on the morphology and properties of polycarbonate blends

Abstract

Abstract The effect of quiescent annealing for brief periods at melt‐processing temperatures (e.g., 270°C) were designed to simulate certain conditions that can occur during molding or extrusion. It was found that significant changes in the phase morphology of polycarbonate‐based blends can occur in less than 2 min under these conditions. Such morphological rearrangements are detrimental to the mechanical properties of multiphase blends of polycarbonate with rigid polymers, viz., polystyrene, poly(methyl methacrylate), and styrene/acrylonitrile copolymers and core‐shell impact modifiers.