Properties of copolymer‐type polyacetal/polyurethane blends

AbstractMechanical and physical properties of the blends of copolymer‐type polyacetals (POM) with polyurethane (PU) were investigated. The properties relationships of POM/PU blends are established by studying their morphology and compatibility. For the blends rich in POM, the morphology of the blends observed with a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicates that the blends containing lower than 50 wt % (46 vol %) PU are almost completely filled with spherical particles of the dispersed PU. As the concentration of PU increases, the spherulites of the POM observed by SEM become less perfect with coarse fine structure. Furthermore, when the concentration of PU was increased up to 50 wt %, the spherulties of POM in the blends are smaller than those of unblended POM. X‐ray diffraction studies reveal that the degree of crystallinity of POM decreases with increasing PU content, which is nonmonotonic. This conclusion agrees with the observations made by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and density measurements. For the blends rich in POM, mechanical properties show that the impact strength of POM/PU blends increased with decreasing spherical size of the dispersed PU.