Submicron structured polymethyl methacrylate/acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber blends obtained via gamma radiation induced "in situ" polymerization

The morphology and properties of PMMA/rubber blends, obtained through gamma radiation induced "in situ" polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) in the presence of small quantities of an acrylonitrile-butadiene based rubber (ABN), are presented. Different systems have been obtained by irradiating at a fixed irradiation dose rate and temperature, varying the integrated dose. All the blends obtained were characterized with respect to their melt state and solid state dynamic-mechanical response and mechanical tensile properties. In particular, the effect on the blend properties of prolonging the irradiation time was investigated. Furthermore, a morphological characterization through atomic force microscopy (AFM) was performed in order to determine how the irradiation conditions affect the ABN rubber particle size and distribution. Finally, the stability of the obtained morphologies was investigated by performing post-irradiation thermal treatments at a temperature close to the glass transition of pure PMMA.