Miscibility evolution of polycarbonate/polystyrene blends during compounding

The miscibility evolution of polycarbonate/polystyrene (PC/PS) blends during the compounding process in three blending methods of industrial relevance, namely melt blending, remelt blending in a twin-screw extruder and third melt blending in an injection molding machine, was investigated by measuring their glass transition temperatures (T-g) and their specific heat increment (DeltaC(p)). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to examine nine blend compositions. Shifts in glass transition temperature (T-g) of the two phases in melt-mixed PC/PS blends suggest partial miscibility of one polymer in the other. The observed solubility strongly depends on blend composition and blending method. The T-g measurements showed maximum mutual solubility around 50/50 composition. The miscibility of PC/PS blended after the third stage (melt injection molding) was higher than that after the first stages (melt extrusion) and the second stages (remelt extrusion).