Abstract
Low‐density polyethylene/polyamide 6 (LDPE/PA6) blends were in situ formed by reactive extrusion, in which in situ polymerization of ε‐caprolactam (CL) and in situ copolymerization of maleic anhydride grafted low‐density polyethylene (LDPE‐MA) and CL took place simultaneously. The latter reaction could be considered as in situ compatibilization, and the influence of in situ compatibilization on the morphologies, thermal properties, and rheological behaviors of the blends was investigated in this work. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the in situ compatibilization could dramatically reduce the dispersed phase sizes and narrow the size distribution. The thermal properties indicated that in differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) cooling scans, fractionated crystallization of the PA6 component was observed in all cases and was promoted with increasing the amount of LDPE‐MA. The DSC second heating scans showed the in situ compatibilization could stimulate the formation of the less stable γ‐crystalline form of PA6 in the blends. Dynamic rheological experiments revealed the in situ compatibilization had enhanced the viscosity, storage modulus, and loss modulus of the blend and reduce the corresponding slope values of the storage modulus and loss modulus. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010