A novel mechanism to accelerate stress relaxation of toughened blends: Stress-induced core-shell morphological reconstruction and its application in thermoforming and dimensional stabilization

Improving thermoforming efficiency and dimensional stability in thermoplastic products is a common challenge. This study investigates toughened polyamide 612 (PA612) blends made by adding maleic anhydride-functionalized SEBS (mSEBS) elastomers, along with high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polyphenylene Oxide (PPO), and polyphenylene Sulfide (PPS). Analyses showed that mSEBS forms a core-shell structure with HDPE or PPO and a sea-island structure with PPS in the PA612 matrix. The study uniquely examines how these structures affect stress relaxation. The results, modeled by a steady-state creep model, revealed that the core-shell structures reduced the characteristic relaxation time (λ) by over three orders of magnitude compared to PA612/mSEBS blends. Additionally, PA612/mSEBS/HDPE blends were more temperature-sensitive, reducing λ by six orders of magnitude compared to PA612/mSEBS/PPO blends. Further analysis showed that stress-induced core-shell morphological reconstruction (SCMR) significantly improved stress relaxation by promoting extensive plastic deformation and energy dissipation. These toughened PA612 blends exhibited excellent thermoforming efficiency and dimensional stability. A 3D finite element model confirmed SCMR as an effective strategy for stress relaxation, providing valuable insights for designing toughened blends with superior processing efficiency and stability. [Display omitted] •A core-shell multiphase synergy reduced relaxtion time by six orders of magnitude, far surpassing conventional methods.•Accelerated relaxation due to stress-induced core-shell morphological reconstruction led to efficient plastic deformation and energy dissipation.•Core-shell structures enhance thermoforming efficiency and ensure dimensional stability in end-use articles.