Rheology of polymer blend nanocomposites

A review on the rheological features of polymer blend nanocomposites (PBNANOs) is presented. The role played by nanoparticles to fine-tune the morphology of immiscible blends, substituting conventional compatibilizers, is highlighted. Most of the reviewed papers center their attention on the dynamic (oscillatory) viscoelastic properties in the linear regime, in which the structure of these complex systems remains unaffected. It is seen that the authors have been able to link the linear rheological results to the morphology of PBNANOs and establish viscoelastic models to calculate the interfacial tension between polymer phases. The suitability of the oscillatory techniques, in the linear and nonlinear regime, to detect the coalescence of the droplets of the dispersed polymer phase is presented, even when the works referred to the nonlinear regime are scarce. Regarding to these latter rheological measurements, continuous extrusion flow and extensional flow results on PBNANOs are also reviewed.