Structure and properties of heat-resistant ABS resins innovated via MSAMI random copolymer

This work proposed an efficient method to synthesize acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) copolymer and α-Methylstyrene (α-MSt)/N-phenylmaleimide (NPMI)/Acrylonitrile (AN) (MSAMI) random copolymer via emulsion polymerization, aiming to combine the excellent heat resistance of MSAMI and numerous advantages of ABS resin including mechanical properties, processing and recyclability. The effects of the MSAMI content and α-MSt/AN ratio on the thermal performance, mechanical properties and the morphology of heat-resistant ABS were investigated by FITR, dynamic mechanical analyses (DMA), Vicat Softening Temperature (VST), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). As a result, the heat-resistant of ABS resin was obviously enhanced by MSAMI, and its glass transition temperature (Tg) could be extended with the increase of NPMI content. The Tg could reach 173°C when NPMI content was 20% at the same trend as the VST. Synthetically, the contradiction between the heat resistance and mechanical properties of ABS resin reached a good balance when the NPMI content was 15% and α-MSt/AN ratio was 69/31. In SEM, the fracture morphology of the heat-resistant ABS resin was gradually tended to be smooth with the increase of the NPMI content. Therefore, the MSAMI random copolymer was successful prepared, which provided insight for the synthesis of heat-resistant modifiers and promoted the potential application of heat-resistant modifiers in automobiles and aircraft.

Preparation and Characterization of Wood-Plastic Nanocomposites Based on Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene

The new wood-plastic nanocomposites (WPC) based on acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) resin was successfully blended with ABS and poplar flour (PF) through a HAAKE rheomix. The mechanical properties of nanocomposites, except for flexural modulus, were reduced after increasing the PF content. SEM photos show the reduction resulting from weak interfacial adhesion between the PF phase and ABS phase. Higher PF content leads to a low thermal stability and a high water absorption ratio. Different coupling agents (CA) were employed to improve the compatibility between PF and ABS. The results suggest that ABS-g-MAH is more effective than POE-g-MAH, EVA and SEBS. Maleic anhydride (MA) was blended in situ with PF and ABS as the reactive compatibilizer and mechanical properties of nanocomposites were improved except impact strength.

Effects of Reprocessing on Acrylonitrile–Butadiene–Styrene and Additives

Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) is one of the most extensively used engineering polymers and analysing the chemical structure changes during processing and recycling is extremely important. Hence, in this study, an ABS resin was processed using a torque rheometer at different temperatures and for different numbers of cycles. Pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) was used to study the effects of the processing parameters on additives. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy, and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) were used to analyse the structural changes in the resin. GPC results showed that after processing at 290 °C using the torque rheometer, large size soluble polymeric components increased. The increase in the large size soluble polymeric components after processing at 290 °C was probably related to the crosslinking reactions in the grafted polybutadiene (PB). Furthermore, chemical analysis of the ABS resin samples after multiple extrusion cycles in a twin-screw extruder indicated that reprocessing considerably affected the ABS resin.