Reactive Extrusion
Reactive extrusion describes a special process in extrusion technology in which individual components are first bonded by a chemical reaction in the extruder. Twin screw extruders are particularly suitable for the reactive extrusion process due to the excellent mixing properties. (Coperion, Reactive Extrusion, 6/28/2011)
Recent Journal Articles
The Influence of Blend Morphology (Co-Continuous or Sub-Micrometer Droplets Dispersions) on the Nucleation and Crystallization Kinetics of Double Crystalline Polyethylene/Polyamide Blends Prepared by Reactive Extrusion
(1335–1350)Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics 212 #13 (2011)
Córdova et al of the Universidad Simón Bolívar, Venezuela and ESPCI-CNRS, France, carried out reactive blending of functionalized polyethylenes (PE) and polyamides (PA) by carefully choosing extrusion conditions and polymeric materials in order to obtain two types of stable morphologies. The first blend type yields a co-continuous morphology and the second type a dispersion of sub-micron droplets of the PA phase in a PE matrix. The crystallization kinetics of the PA change from a sigmoidal classical type (for the co-continuous blend) to first-order kinetics in the case of the sub-micron PA droplets. The results demonstrate an intimate relationship between blend morphology and nucleation and crystallization kinetics of the blend components. (RDC 6/27/2011)