The distribution and morphological evolution of dispersed phase in laminating‐multiplying elements during extrusion

Abstract Three kinds of polymeric blends: nylon 6/isotactic polypropylene, talc/ethylene 1‐octene copolymer, and carbon black (CB)/propylene–ethylene copolymer are prepared by applying an assembly of laminating‐multiplying elements (LMEs) connecting with an extruder. The morphological observations illustrate that those LMEs may not only provide biaxial stretching force on the melt, leading to the orientation of dispersed phase, but also make the distribution of those particles become more even. The tensile, barrier, or electrical properties are also investigated, respectively, and demonstrate the development of morphologies in LMEs. Results suggest that the laminating‐multiplying extrusion system is a useful tool to obtain polymeric composites with specific morphologies and distribution. POLYM. COMPOS., 2012. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers