Thermal and mechanical properties of microcellular thermoplastic SBS/PS/SBR blend: effect of crosslinking

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of peroxide crosslinking on the structure and mechanical properties for SBS/PS/SBR foams composed of polystyrene (PS), poly(styrene-b-butadiene) diblock copolymer (SBR-1502), and poly(styrene-b-butadiene-b-styrene) triblock copolymer (SBS). The cell size and its distribution of SBS/PS/SBR foams were investigated by SEM images, showing the smaller and denser of hollow cells for the SBS/PS/SBR foam containing the higher concentration of DCP (dicumyl peroxide). As expected, the density of the SBS/PS/SBR foams increases with increasing the content of DCP. The high density of polymeric foams exhibits the high mechanical properties such as hardness, shrinkage, tensile strength, tear strength, elongation at break, and compression set. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.