Transparency of rubber‐toughened polymer blend containing plasticizer

Transparency and its temperature dependence were studied for rubber-toughened polymer blends composed of poly(methyl methacrylate), core–shell latex–rubber particles, and plasticizers such as tricresyl phosphate and di(2-ethylhexyl)adipate. The transparency of the blends was found to be improved by the addition of the plasticizers. This phenomenon is attributed to the uneven distribution of the plasticizer in the blends. Furthermore, it was found that the plasticizers improve the transparency in a wide temperature range, because the plasticizer addition reduces the difference in the thermal expansion, and thus the temperature dependence of the refractive index, between poly(methyl methacrylate) and the rubber phases. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014, 131, 40775.

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