The effect of different impact modifiers in halogen-free flame retarded polycarbonate blends - I. Pyrolysis

In this first of two papers, the thermal decomposition of bisphenol A bis(diphenyl phosphate)-flame retarded polycarbonate (PC) blends with different impact modifiers was studied. The impact modifiers were an acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), a poly(n-butyl acrylate) (PBA) rubber with a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) shell and two silicone-acrylate rubbers consisting of PBA with different amounts of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and different shells (PMMA and styrene-acrylonitrile, SAN). The focus of this work was to study the impact of the acrylate and silicon-acrylate rubbers with respect to pyrolysis and flame retardancy in comparison to common ABS. Thermogravimetry (TG) was performed to investigate the pyrolysis behaviour and reaction kinetics. TG in combination with FTIR identified the pyrolysis gases. Solid residues were investigated by FTIR-ATR. PC/ABS shows two-step decomposition, with PC decomposing independently from ABS at higher temperatures. Pure acrylate rubber destabilises PC due to interactions between the rubber and PC, which leads to earlier decomposition of PC. Using silicone-acrylate rubbers led to similar results as PC/ABS with respect to pyrolysis, reaction kinetics and analysis of the solid residue; hence the exchange of ABS for the silicone-acrylate rubbers is possible.     

异山梨醇型聚碳酸酯与ABS树脂共混体系的结构与性能研究

采用异山梨醇型聚碳酸酯(DB),与掺混型ABS熔融共混制备了具有不同聚丁二烯(PB)含量和丙烯腈(AN)含量的DB/掺混型ABS合金,并在考察掺混型ABS特征对合金结构与性能的影响的基础上,分别使用同种掺混型ABS以及各种商品化ABS树脂,比较了DB/ABS合金和双酚A型聚碳酸酯/ABS合金的性能及其变化规律.结果表明,对DB/掺混型ABS(70/30)合金而言,PB含量变化对于合金拉伸性能的影响明显大于AN含量变化所带来的影响,在PB含量为6.3 wt%条件下,各不同AN含量的合金体系均有最好的性能表现.PB含量和AN含量变化对合金分散相形态的影响与力学拉伸性能变化特征一致.DB/ABS合金体系均具有良好的热稳定性与热力学相容性,受AN含量和PB含量变化的影响较小,合金玻璃化转变温度与DB非常接近.以双酚A型聚碳酸酯为基础的聚碳酸酯(PC)/ABS合金及以异山梨醇型聚碳酸酯为基础的DB/ABS合金,在拉伸性能变化上均表现出完全相同的规律,且无论是采用掺混型ABS还是采用商品化ABS的体系,PC/ABS与DB/ABS合金在拉伸性能所反映出的规律也是基本一致的.     

Mechanical behavior of polymer microlayers

The mechanical behavior of polycarbonate (PC) coextruded as microlayers with a brittle polymer, either poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) (SAN) or poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), was examined. Adhesion between layers was measured with the T-peel method. The much higher interfacial toughness of PC/PMMA microlayers compared to PC/SAN was attributed to partial miscibility. Comparison of the microdeformation behavior of 32-layer PC/SAN and PC/PMMA microlayers revealed that very good adhesion between PC and PMMA constrained yielding of the PC. This was seen in the tensile stress-strain curves as a broader stress drop at the yield point and a lower fracture strain. Decreasing the layer thickness by increasing the number of layers enhanced the ductility of both PC/SAN and PC/PMMA microlayers. A PC/PMMA microlayer with 4096 layers and a composition of 80% PC achieved the ballistic performance of polycarbonate.     

Effects of polybutadiene-g-SAN impact modifiers on the morphology and mechanical behaviors of ABS blends

A series of PB-g-SAN impact modifiers with different ratio of PB to SAN ranging from 20.6/79.4 to 91.9/8.1 were synthesized by seeded emulsion polymerization. ABS blends were prepared by blending these PB-g-SAN impact modifiers and SAN resin. The rubber concentration of these ABS blends was kept at a constant value of 15 wt%. The influences of different impact modifier on the mechanical behavior and morphology of ABS blends have been investigated. The dynamic mechanical analysis on ABS blends shows that T_g of the rubbery phase shifts to a lower temperature, (tan δ)_max of the rubbery phase increases and then decreases with the increase of PB concentration in PB-g-SAN impact modifier. A uniform dispersion of rubber particles in the matrix can be observed when PB/SAN ratio in PB-g-SAN impact modifier is in the range from 20.6/79.4 to 71.7/28.3. When it exceeds 71.7/28.3, an agglomeration of rubber particles occurs. The mechanical tests indicate that the ABS blend, in which PB/SAN ratio in the impact modifier is 71.7/28.3, has the maximum impact strength and yield strength.     

The effect of different impact modifiers in halogen-free flame retarded polycarbonate blends - II. Fire behaviour

In this second of a series of two papers, the fire behaviour of halogen-free flame retarded polycarbonate (PC) blends with different impact modifiers was studied. The impact modifiers were acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), a poly(n-butyl acrylate) rubber (PBA) with a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) shell and two silicone-acrylate rubbers consisting of PBA with different amounts of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and different shell materials (PMMA and styrene-acrylonitrile, SAN). The flame retardant was bisphenol A bis(diphenyl phosphate) (BDP). Flammability was determined by LOI and UL 94. The burning behaviour under forced flaming conditions was studied by cone calorimeter under different external irradiations and by pyrolysis combustion flow calorimeter measurements. The exchange of ABS with the pure acrylate rubber worsened flammability, while similar results were obtained in cone calorimeter measurements. The exchange of ABS with the silicone-acrylate rubbers is promising, particularly with higher amounts of PDMS. In flammability tests strongly enhanced LOI values were obtained and therefore silicone-acrylate rubbers look like promising alternatives for ABS.     

Thermal,mechanical and morphological properties of multicomponent blends based on acrylic and styrenic polymers

Multicomponent polymer blends afford polymeric materials with specific properties for many applications. The effect of different chemical structures on the miscibility and compatibility of polymer blends composed of multicomponent acrylic and styrenic polymers was studied in this research. The influence of each component on the thermal, mechanical, and morphological properties, as well as optical transparency, was analyzed in poly (methyl methacrylate), homopolymer (PMMAh), or copolymer (PMMAe) blends where the minority constituents formed by polystyrene (PS), styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer (SAN) or acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene terpolymer (ABS). The results showed significant changes in the properties of these mixtures due to the effect of the type of chemical structure and different elastomeric domains of the majority and minority components of polymer blends.     

Microphase separation in poly(acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene) (ABS) studied with paramagnetic spin probes. I. Electron spin resonance spectra

Microphase separation in poly(acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene) (ABS) was studied as a function of the butadiene content and method of preparation with electron spin resonance (ESR) spectra of nitroxide spin probes. Results for the ABS polymers were evaluated by comparison with similar studies of the homopolymers polybutadiene (PB), polystyrene (PS), and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and the copolymers poly(styrene‐co‐acrylonitrile) (SAN) and poly(styrene‐co‐butadiene) (SB). Two spin probes were selected for this study: 10‐doxylnonadecane (10DND) and 5‐doxyldecane (5DD). The probes varied in size and were selected because their hydrocarbon backbone made them compatible with the polymers studied. The ESR spectra were measured in the temperature range 120–420 K and were analyzed in terms of line shapes, line widths, and hyperfine splitting from the ¹⁴N nucleus; the appearance of more than one spectral component was taken as an indication of microphase separation. Only one spectral component was detected for 10DND in PB, PS, and PAN and in the copolymers SAN and SB. In contrast, two spectral components differing in their dynamic properties were detected for both probes in the three types of ABS samples studied and were assigned to spin probes located in butadiene‐rich domains (the fast component) and SAN‐rich domains (the slow component). The behavior of the fast component in ABS prepared by mass polymerization suggested that the low‐T_g (glass‐transition‐temperature) phase was almost pure PB. The corresponding phase in ABS prepared by emulsion grafting also contained styrene and acrylonitrile monomers. A redistribution of the spin probes on heating occurred with heating near the T_g of the SAN phase, suggesting that the ABS polymers as prepared were not in thermodynamic equilibrium. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 40: 415–423, 2002; DOI 10.1002/polb.10109     

SAN共聚物组成对PVC/ABS共混物相容性的影响

采用乳液聚合技术通过改变共聚单体的投料比(St/AN)合成了一系列不同AN结合量的ABS接枝共聚物粉料和SAN共聚物.将其与聚氯乙烯(PVC)和邻苯二甲酸二辛酯(DOP)熔融共混分别制得了PVC/ABS、PVC/SAN、PVC/ABS/DOP和PVC/SAN/DOP共混物,利用SEM、TEM和动态力学粘弹谱仪(DMA)对共混物的相容性和相结构进行了表征.结果发现,在PVC/ABS共混体系中,尽管改变接枝SAN共聚物的AN结合量,PVC和SAN共聚物均为不相容体系;在该共混物中引入增塑剂DOP后,虽然当SAN共聚物AN结合量小于23.4 wt%时,共混物在室温以上只存在一个tanδ峰,但形态结构研究结果表明共混物仍为不相容体系,共混物的相区尺寸明显地依赖于SAN共聚物中的AN结合量,当AN结合量为23.4 wt%时相区尺寸最小.     

Morphology and grafting reactions in core/shell latexes

The particle morphology and percent grafting were investigated as a function of the crosslink density of the seed latex in two systems of core/shell latexes of polybutadiene/polymethyl methacrylate (PB/PMMA) and styrene–butadiene rubber/polymethyl methacrylate (SBR/PMMA) prepared by seeded emulsion polymerization at 50°C. The thin layer chromatography/flame ionization detection (TLC/FID) technique was used to characterize the grafting efficiency of the core/shell latexes. The percent grafting of the shell polymer was found to decrease with increasing the crosslink density of the core material. The particle morphology and precent grafting were also investigated as a function of composition and structure of the core material in four core/shell latex systems: polybutadiene/styrene–acrylonitrile copolymer (PB/SAN), (styrene-butadiene) random copolymer/styrene acrylonitrile copolymer (S:B/SAN), polystyrene : polybutadiene/styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer (PS:PB/SAN) and Kraton/styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer (Kraton/SAN), which were prepared by direct emulsification for the seed followed by emulsion polymerization at 70°C for the shell polymer. Grafting and crosslinking of the core material were found to be competitive reactions depending on the microstructure of the seed latex.     

Thermal and photo-degradation of unstabilized ABS

Thermal- and photo-stabilities of unstabilized acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene terpolymer, ABS, have been investigated by i.r. spectroscopy. Degradation of ABS samples is initiated by attack on the polybutadiene (PB) component; oxidation products containing hydroxyl and carbonyl groups are produced. The effect of prior thermal processing is to introduce into the polymer hydroperoxides arising from oxidative destruction of PB-unsaturation; these hydroperoxides act as catalysts during subsequent u.v. irradiation. The insolubility of degraded samples of ABS is associated with the formation of cross-linked structures and occurs mainly in the PB segment. It is concluded that the degradation characteristics of ABS are essentially those of the polybutadiene component.     

Microphase separation in poly(acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene) (ABS) studied with paramagnetic spin probes. II. Simulation of electron spin resonance spectra

We recently presented electron spin resonance spectra of poly(acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene) (ABS) doped with 10‐doxylnonadecane (10DND) and 5‐doxyldecane (5DD) as spin probes. The spectra were measured in three types of ABS that differed in their butadiene contents and methods of preparation. Results for the ABS polymers were evaluated by comparison with similar studies on the homopolymers polybutadiene (PB) and polystyrene (PS) and the copolymers poly(styrene‐co‐acrylonitrile) (SAN) and poly(styrene‐co‐butadiene) (SB). Only one spectral component was detected for 10DND in PB, PS, SAN, and SB. In contrast, two spectral components differing in their dynamic properties were detected in the ABS samples and were assigned to spin probes located in butadiene‐rich domains (the fast component) and SAN‐rich domains (the slow component). The presence of two spectral components was taken as an indication of microphase separation. In this study, we present details on the dynamics and microphase separation by simulating spectra of 10DND in ABS, PB, PS, and SAN. The simulations are based on a dynamic model defined by the components of the rotational diffusion tensor and the diffusion tilt angle between the symmetry axis of the rotational diffusion tensor and the direction of the nitrogen 2p_z atomic orbital. The jump diffusion model led to good agreement with experimental spectra. In this model, the spin probe has a fixed orientation for a given time and then jumps instantaneously to a new orientation. The temperature variation of the rotational correlation time in PB and PS consisted of two dynamic regimes, with different activation energies. The transition temperature at which the change in dynamics occurs (T_tr) is 380 K for PS and 205 K for PB, essentially the same as the corresponding glass‐transition temperatures measured by differential scanning calorimetry. We suggest that T_tr is a better indicator of the glass transition than the temperature at which the total spectral width is 50 G, especially for large probes. The simulation program allowed the determination of the relative intensities of the fast and slow spectral components as a function of temperature; this information was used to clarify the redistribution of the probe above the glass transition of the SAN‐rich component in ABS systems. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 40: 424–433, 2002; DOI 10.1002/polb.10110     

Miscibility and phase separation in SAN/PMMA blends investigated by positron lifetime measurements

Miscibility and phase separation in SAN/PMMA blends have been investigated using DSC, IR spectroscopy and positron lifetime spectroscopy (PLS). Single broad glass transition observed throughout the blend compositions, may be due to overlap of two glass transitions. IR measurements clearly indicate the absence of strong interactions. This supports miscibility is due to intramolecular repulsive forces in the SAN component. On the other hand, free volume data show negative deviation from linear additivity indicating the blends are miscible. The interchain interaction parameter β exhibits a complex behavior and the extent of miscibility is not revealed. Following Wolf’s treatment, we have evaluated the geometry factor γ and hydrodynamic interaction parameter α and found α is a suitable parameter in predicting the miscibility window. The cloud points in SAN/PMMA blends increase with decreasing PMMA content. The change in free volume size correlates well with the observed change in cloud point.     

Upper critical solution temperature type phase behavior of poly(styrene‐co‐acrylonitrile) blends with poly(styrene‐co‐n‐phenyl maleimide) and their interaction energies

To enhance the heat resistance of poly(styrene‐co‐acrylonitrile‐co‐butadiene), ABS, miscibility of poly(styrene‐co‐acrylonitrile), SAN, with poly(styrene‐co‐n‐phenyl maleimide), SNPMI, having a higher glass transition temperature than SAN was explored. SAN/SNPMI blends casted from solvent were immiscible regardless of copolymer compositions. However, SNPMI copolymer forms homogeneous mixtures with SAN copolymer within specific ranges of copolymer composition upon heating caused by upper critical solution temperature, UCST, type phase behavior. Since immiscibility of solvent casting samples can be driven by solvent effects even though SAN/SNPMI blends are miscible, UCST‐type phase behavior was confirmed by exploring phase reversibility. When copolymer composition of SNPMI was fixed, the phase homogenization temperature of SAN/SNPMI blends was increased as AN content in SAN copolymer increased. To understand the observed phase behavior of SAN/SNPMI blend, interaction energies of blends were calculated from the UCST‐type phase boundaries by using the lattice‐fluid theory combined with a binary interaction model. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 46: 1131–1139, 2008     

Etude de copolymères ABS (acrylonitrile–butadiène–styrène): Solvatation préférentielle du polybutadiène par les promoteurs

ABS resins formed by copolymerization of styrene and acrylonitrile (AN) in presence of polybutadiene, consist of a mixture of SAN graft copolymer on polybutadiene (PBut) and of ungrafted SAN copolymer (styrene-co-acrylonitrile). The kinetic study was completed by showing a preferential solvation of polybutadiene by the initiator. This solvation effect was studied as a function of the concentration ratio SAN/PBut and in relation with the type of initiator. The adsorption of initiator appeared to be maximum when its solubility parameter (σ) is close to that of polybutadiene. As a function of the polybutadiene characteristics, this selective adsorption can be given by where I₁ is the quantity of initiator in the polybutadiene medium, I is the total amount of peroxide, [PBut] is the concentration of polybutadiene, and M?_n its molecular weight. It has been shown furthermore that the preferential solvation of polybutadiene by the benzoyl peroxide can be increased by addition of SAN or acrylonitrile. The consequences of this solvation effect on the characteristics of the grafting reaction, more precisely on the molecular weight of grafted and ungrafted SAN and on the rate of polymerization, were examined.     

Long‐time relaxations in rubber‐modified polymer systems

Linear and nonlinear viscoelastic properties were measured in the molten state for several model ABS polymers with different rubber particle contents. Linear viscoelastic functions for ABS polymers can be separated in two parts. One is a relaxation associated with the entanglement of matrix SAN chains and the other comes from the particle‐particle interactions of rubber particles. This relaxation depends strongly on the degree of dispersion of rubber particles. The second‐plateau modulus appeared at low frequency with samples in which rubber particles agglomerate. While, the second‐plateau modulus was not observed with samples in which rubber particles are finely dispersed. Matching of AN content between grafted and matrix SAN and optimum graft density form a finely dispersed system. Large deformation relaxation measurements revealed that the damping of ABS polymers having a good dispersion of particles become stronger with an increase in rubber content. This strong damping can be explained by a layered structure. The very long relaxation was found for higher rubber content, when the neighboring grafted SAN chains contact with each other.     

PC/ABS及PC/ABS/PE-g-MAH共混体系相容性的研究

研究了聚碳酸酯与ＡＢＳ（ＰＣ／ＡＢＳ）及ＰＣ／ＡＢＳ与马来酸酐接枝聚乙烯共聚物（ＰＣ／ＡＢＳ／ＰＥ－ｇ－ＭＡＨ）共混体系的力学性能和应力开裂性能。用ＤＳＣ和ＳＥＭ研究了共混体系的相容性。结果表明：ＡＢＳ的加入能提高ＰＣ的冲击强度,ＡＢＳ的含量及品种影响ＰＣ／ＡＢＳ合金的力学性能,ＡＢＳ能提高ＰＣ的耐溶剂应力开裂性能。ＰＣ／ＡＢＳ／ＰＥ－ｇ－ＭＡＨ共混体系的力学性能和相容性优于ＰＣ／ＡＢＳ共混体系,     

Morphology,mechanical, and fracture properties of HNBR modified ASA/SAN blends

In this work, acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylic terpolymer/styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer/hydrogenated nitrile rubber (ASA/SAN/HNBR) ternary blends with different composition were prepared by melt blending. Properties of the ternary blends were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMTA), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR), heat distortion temperature (HDT), melt flow rate (MFR), and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the incorporation of HNBR can enhance the toughness by a large scale, and the two rubber phase showed partial miscibility. Heat resistance of the blends almost unchanged with HNBR content. FTIR told that the preparation of the ternary blends was a physical process, and no obvious phase separation was observed in SEM images.     

Co‐continuous Polyamide 6 (PA6)/Acrylonitrile‐Butadiene‐Styrene (ABS) Nanocomposites

Summary: Polyamide 6 (PA6)/acrylonitrile‐butadiene‐styrene (ABS) (40/60 w/w) nanocomposites with a novel morphology were prepared by the melt mixing of PA6, ABS and organoclay. The blend nanocomposites had a co‐continuous structure, in which both PA6 and styrene‐acrylonitrile (SAN) were continuous phases. It was found that the toughening rubber particles were only located in the SAN phase and the strengthening clay platelets were selectively dispersed in the PA6 phase. The co‐continuous nanocomposites showed greatly improved mechanical properties over the whole temperature range when compared with the same blend sample without clay.

Schematic diagram for the co‐continuous ABS/PA6 blend nanocomposite.     

Miscibility of poly(ϵ-caprolactone) and of poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) with poly(styrene-co-acrylic acid)

The miscibility of poly (?-caprolactone) (PCL) with poly (styrene-co-acrylic acid) (SAA) and of poly (styrene-co-acrylonitrile) (SAN) with SAA was examined as a function of the comonomer composition in the copolymers. For PCL/SAA blends it was found that PCL is miscible with SAA within a specific range of copolymer compositions. Segmental interaction energy densities were evaluated by analysis of the equilibrium melting point depression and application of a binary interaction model. The results suggest that the intramolecular repulsion in SAA copolymer plays an important role in inducing the miscibility. Additionally, the critical AA content in SAA for the blend to be homogeneous was predicted by correlating the segmental interaction energy densities with the binary interaction model. For SAN/SAA blends, it was also found that SAA is miscible with SAN within a specific range of copolymer compositions. From the binary interaction model, segmental interaction energy denisties between different monomer units were estimated from the miscibility map and were found to be positive for all pairs, indicating that the miscibility of the blends is due to the strong repulsion in the SAA copolymers.     

ABS blends with phenoxy: morphology,thermal, mechanical and rheological properties

Blends of ABS (acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene) with phenoxy(poly(hydroxyether bisphenol A)) were prepared using a Branender single screw extruder. Scanning and transmission electron micrographs (SEM, TEM) showed a typical two-phase morphology; particle-in-matrix (90/10) (ABS/phenoxy by weight), 70/30, 10/90), island/sea (30/70) and co-continuous (50/50) morphologies. The glass transition temperature (T_g) of SAN was almost unchanged in the blends, while the T_g of phenoxy increased by about 5 °C in the blends. The synergistic effect of tensile modulus and strength was noted in ABS-rich blends, where a drastic drop of ductility was seen, and the results were interpreted in terms of rubber particle migration form SAN to phenoxy phase, which was visualized by TEM. Melt viscosity showed yield in ABS-rich blends, and generally followed the log additivity.