Reactive surfactants – new type of additive for multicomponent polymer systems

Abstract

A new type of interfacial additive has been developed by the authors recently. The molecules of amphiphilic character are capable of forming chemical bonds at both the polar and the apolar sides. These reactive surfactants have been synthesised in a specially designed computer-controlled reactor system. The aim of the development was to combine the advantages of nonreactive surfactants and reactive coupling agents, making possible an in-line reactive interface modification during the compounding process of the polymer system. The characteristics and effects of the synthesised compounds were determined using methods of analytical and colloid chemistry, like Raman microscopy, surface tension, contact angle and rheological measurements.

Acknowledgements This work was supported financially by the Commission of the European Communities through contract no. G5RD-CT-1999-00120 and by the Hungarian Research Fund through project OTKA T32941.