Tensile properties and interfacial adhesion of silicone rubber/polyethylene blends by reactive blending

ABSTRACT Two‐phase blends of silicone rubber (SR) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) were prepared by reactive blending using peroxide crosslinking agent of SR. The tensile strength and elastic modulus of the SR were found to be increased by reactive blending with LLDPE without sacrifice of the elongation. The improvement of the tensile properties is attributed to the strong adhesion at the interface between SR matrix and LLDPE domain due to the chemical reaction by peroxide. The observation by polarized optical microscopies revealed that the debonding did not occur at the interface, but the LLDPE domains were elongated to longer one. Despite the elongation of the LLDPE domain, the blends exhibited good deformation recoverability. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018, 135, 46192.