Blends of poly(vinyl chloride) with α‐methylstyrene‐acrylonitrile‐butadiene‐styrene copolymer: Thermal properties, mechanical properties, and morphology

Abstract

Binary blends of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) with α‐methylstyrene‐acrylonitrile‐butadiene‐styrene copolymer (AMS‐ABS) were prepared via melt blending. A single glass transition temperature (Tg) was observed by differential scanning calorimetry, thus indicating that PVC is miscible with the α‐methylstyrene‐acrylonitrile‐styrene in AMS‐ABS. The results from attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectra indicated that specific strong interactions were not available in the blends. With increasing amounts of AMS‐ABS, both heat distortion temperature and thermal stability were increased considerably. With regard to mechanical properties, flexural and tensile properties decreased with increasing AMS‐ABS content. A synergism was observed in impact strength. The morphology of both impact‐fractured and tensile‐fractured surfaces, observed by scanning electron microscopy, correlated well with the mechanical properties. It is suggested that there was a transition of fracture mechanisms with the changing composition of the binary blends—from shear yielding for blends rich in PVC to cavitation for blends rich in AMS‐ABS. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 19:1–10, 2013. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers