Melt flow and strength of branched styrene copolymers

In order to assess the dependence of strength properties of glassy polymers upon the extent of branching, copolymers of poly(styrene–acrylonitrile) were prepared. By using principally three methods: (a) hydroperoxide intermediates, (b) hydroxyl radical initiation, and (c) incorporation of transfer monomers, branched polymers with high levels of branching with comb and dendritic type structures were generated. The tensile strength was found to be strongly correlatable with melt flow, and, in general, the branched copolymers were found to have the same tensile strength as linear polymers of the same melt index.