The ternary copolymers of α-methyl styrene (AMS) /styrene (St) /maleic anhydride (MAH) (referred to as PASM) were synthesized by solution polymerization.The effects of factors

such as monomer composition

temperature and time of copolymerization

were studied systematically.The copolymers of PASM were characterized by gel permeation chromatography (GPC)

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermogravimetery (TG) .The results indicated that the lower AMS feed ratio led to higher molecular weights and higher monomer conversion as well.When the polymerization temperature went over 70℃

the depolymerization occurred.The higher the temperature

the more serious the depolymerization.TG revealed that thermal stability of the copolymers decreased with increasing the AMS content in the copolymers

which indicated that the degradation was mainly caused by the chain scission of AMS-containing structures.The graft reaction of PASM onto polypropylene (PP) in molten state was investigated

and the functionalized production was confirmed by the FTIR spectra.Through SEM

the in situ compatibilization of polypropylene/nylon 6 (PP/ Ny6) blends with PASM was observed.The results indicated that with little PASM (PP/Ny6/PASM = 80/20/ 3 wt%) being added into PP/Ny6 blends

the in situ compatibilization role can be found distinctly

and the domain of the dispersed phase Ny6 reduced significantly.