Mechanical, thermal properties, and morphology of polymer blend based on polyamide 12 and polyphenylene oxide

Abstract In this study, the impact of polyphenylene oxide (PPO) content on the mechanical, thermal, and morphological properties of the polymer blend based on polyamide 12 (PA12) and PPO was studied. The blends of these two resins were prepared by the melt blending method. The results showed that the tensile strength of the polymer blend reached its highest value at the PA12/PPO ratio of 90/10 by weight percent. The study of the morphological structure of the material through FE‐SEM images showed that the prepared blends have a high uniformity and balanced structure. PPO acts as a reinforcing phase for the PA12 matrix, improving mechanical properties while also acting as an additive to enhance the heat resistance of PA12 plastic. The tensile strength of the PA12/PPO blend at a ratio of 90/10 reached 29.3 MPa, an increase of 16.3% compared to neat PA12. The thermal gravimetric analysis results also showed that the PA12/PPO blend at a ratio of 90/10 has a higher decomposition onset temperature than that of PA12 resin, which is 332.4 °C in comparison to 303.3 °C for PA12, respectively. Besides, PPO enhances the fire resistance of the blends compared to neat PA12, reaching V1 according to UL‐94.