Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) polymers are susceptible to degradation that increases the yellowness of the polymer, distorts the surface glossy, and affects the mechanical properties. One way to protect ABS against degradation is the addition of carbon black (CB) that can act as a stabilizer. In this work, CB was dispersed in ABS through melt-compounding. Electron microscopy was used to study the morphology of the filled-and unfilled-ABS, and revealed that the CB particles/aggregates were distributed within the styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN) phase and around the PB phase. The results of the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed that upon processing of ABS, crosslinking in the polybutadiene (PB) phase was the governing degradation mechanism. Increasing the CB content resulted in increasing the heat stability of the ABS/CB compounds, which was confirmed by thermogravimetric analysis. The DTA results showed that the PB degradation peak occurring at about 3958C was disappeared by addition of CB. Impact strength test was performed to study the effect of CB on the toughness of ABS. Impact strength was reduced with increasing CB loading.
Thermal stability of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) polymers is one of the most essential necessities for color and glossy durability of their surfaces. On the other hand, mechanical properties of ABS are significantly affected by its thermal degradation. One way to protect ABS against degradation is the addition of carbon black (CB) that can act as a stabilizer. In this work, CB was compounded with ABS via melt mixing and the effect of CB structures on the melt and final ABS/CB composites behavior were examined. Flow behavior of ABS/CB compounds was investigated by measurement of melt flow index (MFI). The variation of the MFI of the composites with CB content, particle size and the applied load was also investigated. The results showed that the effect of smaller particles in decreasing the MFI was pronounced than larger particles. The fracture surfaces of the impact tests were studied by scanning electron microscopy, and showed that a semi-brittle fracture surface appeared when CB was added to the ABS. The Young's modulus of ABS increased and the yield stress decreased by increasing the CB loading.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.