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Thermoplastic polyurethane/butylene-styrene triblock copolymer blends: an alternative to tune wear behavior

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Abstract

This work presents an interesting alternative for improving thermoplastic polyurethane's (TPUs) tribological properties by incorporating styrene-ethylene/butylene-styrene triblock copolymer (SEBS) via melt blending. Two TPUs with different molar masses, two compatibilizers SEBS-g-MA (C1) and SEBS-b-TPU (C2) and paraffinic oil were used in the formulated blends. The raw materials' effect on the morphology, rheology, physical–mechanical and tribological performance of TPU/SEBS blends was monitored. The phase morphology achieved depended on the addition of mineral oil and compatibilizer agent type. The rheological analysis showed a pseudo-liquid viscous behavior for all samples. However, this behavior was related to the compatibilizer type and molar mass of the TPU. No significant changes were observed between the compatibilizers C1 and C2 concerning the physicomechanical properties. The fact that mineral oil is preferentially contained in the SEBS phase is the fundamental point to explain the blends phase morphology and their rheological and physical behaviors. The swollen state SEBS modifies the TPU's performance. It also allows tuning properties such as abrasion and increasing the friction coefficient, enabling promising applications for these thermoplastic elastomers blends.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge financial support from the Brazilian Agency Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) for the scholarships to Lucas Dall Agnol and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq, Brazil) for financial support (grant 306086/2018-2). The authors also thank FCC—Indústria e Comércio Ltda for the materials donation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Postgraduate Program in Materials Science and Engineering (PGMAT), University of Caxias do Sul, Caxias do Sul, RS, Brazil

    Lucas Dall Agnol, Márcio Ronaldo Farias Soares & Otávio Bianchi

  2. Postgraduate Program in Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering (PPGE3M), Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Giulio Tremea Toso & Otávio Bianchi

  3. Postgraduate Program in Technology and Materials Engineering (PPG-TEM), Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Sul (IFRS), Campus Feliz, RS, Brazil

    Fernanda Trindade Gonzalez Dias

  4. Department of Materials Engineering (DEMAT), Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Márcio Ronaldo Farias Soares & Otávio Bianchi

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  1. Lucas Dall Agnol
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Correspondence to Otávio Bianchi.

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Agnol, L.D., Toso, G.T., Dias, F.T.G. et al. Thermoplastic polyurethane/butylene-styrene triblock copolymer blends: an alternative to tune wear behavior. Polym. Bull. 79, 5199–5217 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-021-03748-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-021-03748-0

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