We present a basic principle and good practices of the rheology of polymers, particularly for teachers or lecturers at colleges or universities for educational purposes, as well as for beginner researchers who may refer to this article as their self-learning resources. Basic consideration of the experimental methods using parallel-plate oscillatory rheometer and step-by-step guidelines for the estimation of the power law dependence of storage,G′ and loss,G″ modulus as well as the estimation of the relaxation time at f cross G ′ − G ′′ ${f}_{\,\mathrm{cross}}^{\,{G}^{\prime }-{G}^{\prime \prime }}$ at terminal zone using various approaches such as commercial graphical software, manual graphical approach and commercial rheometer software are highlighted. Good practices for data interpretation using different approaches are described and compared where the outcomes revealed the manual graphical approach or commercial graphical software yield comparable results with the commercial rheometer software. In order to have better insight, several examples and exercises which are applicable for teaching and self-learning activities are also provided.

The influence of morphology on the rheological properties of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and natural rubber-graft-poly(methyl methacrylate) (NR-g-PMMA) blends in the melt was investigated. The blends were prepared at different blend compositions by a solution-casting method. Linear viscoelastic shear oscillations measurements were performed in order to determine the elastic and viscous properties of the blends in the melt. The rheological results suggested that the blending of the two constituents reduced the elasticity and viscosity of the blends. The addition of an even small amount of NR-g-PMMA to PEO changed the liquid-like behavior of PEO to more solid-like behavior. Morphological investigations were carried out by optical microscopy to establish the relationship between morphology and melt viscosity. Depending on the blend compositions and viscosities, either droplet–matrix or co-continuous morphologies was observed. PEO/NR-g-PMMA blends exhibited a broad co-continuity range, and phase inversion was suggested to occur at the PEO/NR-g-PMMA blend with a mass ratio of 60/40 (m/m), when NR-g-PMMA was added to PEO as a matrix.

The influence of thermal treatment on the thermal stability, thermal properties, dielectric properties and intermolecular interaction of binary epoxidized natural rubber (ENR)-salt systems, which may be a candidate for solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) was investigated. Solubility of salt in ENR enhances, which may be due to the disruption of the lightly-crosslinked microgel under heat treatment. The increase in the ionic conductivities of the thermally treated ENR SPEs at constant salt content is correlated to the higher glass transition temperatures, development of percolation network and higher extent of intermolecular interactions between ENR and charged entities in this study.