Stiffness Enhancement, Anti-Aging, and Self-Forming Holes in Polycarbonate/Acrylonitrile-Styrene-Acrylic by the Core-Shell Structure of Acrylic Resin.

Ji Huang,Chunliang Kuo,Hung-Yin Tsai

doi:10.3390/polym14040782

Ji Huang, Chunliang Kuo + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14040782

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Abstract

Currently, polycarbonate/acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylic (PC/ASA) is used mainly in the automotive, outdoor electronic equipment, sports equipment, and medical care fields, but its use is limited by its poor impact resistance and aging characteristics. This study investigates the preparation of polycarbonate/acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylic/acrylic resin (PC/ASA/ACE) via melt blending. We observed that the addition of acrylic resin (ACE) enhanced the impact strength (up to 14.1%) and abrasion resistance (up to 35.7%) of the blends compared to PC/ASA. The microstructure of the copolymer was observed by scanning electron microscopy and laser scanning confocal microscopy. They were found to have a self-forming hole phenomenon, which is more favorable for potential PC/ASA applications. Furthermore, ACE addition effectively enhances the copolymer toughness and wear properties but slightly reduces their hardness, tensile strength, and melt flow rate, improving their suitability for use in applications such as aircraft windshields. After 80 cycles of aging, the PC/ASA/ACE also outperformed the impact strength of the unaged PC/ASA. ACE addition to PC/ASA can create materials with better impact and aging resistance.

Highlights

Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) is one of the most widely used thermoplastic engineering plastics, with excellent comprehensive performance
There are no double bonds in ASA, so it is superior to ABS in terms of its weather and chemical resistance [2]
One of them is at a low temperature, two are in the high-temperature region, and the values of the glass transition temperatures do not significantly vary

Summary

Introduction

Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) is one of the most widely used thermoplastic engineering plastics, with excellent comprehensive performance. The butadiene in ABS contains unsaturated C=C double bonds. The double bonds tend to break causing the mechanical properties to deteriorate and change color. To address the problem of poor weather resistance, researchers replaced butadiene with poly(butyl acrylate) (PBA) in ABS and developed acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylic (ASA) in the 1970s [1]. There are no double bonds in ASA, so it is superior to ABS in terms of its weather and chemical resistance [2]. Polycarbonate (PC) is a thermoplastic engineering plastic with excellent comprehensive performance. It has been widely used in electronics and automobile manufacturing [3–6]. PC/ASA combines the excellent properties of each component, enhancing heat resistance, impact strength, and tensile strength, and improving the processability and weather and solvent resistance of PC [7,8]

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