Mechanical and morphological properties of acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene terpolymer/nitrile butadiene rubber thermoplastic vulcanizates plasticized by dioctyl phthalate

Abstract

Thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs) based on acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene terpolymer (ABS)/nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) blends were prepared by dynamic vulcanization where ABS matrix was plasticized by dioctyl phthalate (DOP), and the influences of DOP plasticizer dosage on mechanical properties, Mullins effect, and morphological properties of the TPVs were investigated systematically. Experimental results indicated that the mechanical properties of ABS/NBR TPVs were improved significantly with the incorporation of DOP. Compared with ABS/NBR TPVs, the tensile strength and the elongation at break went through maximum values at a plasticizer content of 10 phr, while the Shore A hardness was decreased apparently. Mullins effect results showed that the TPVs incorporated with DOP had relatively lower stress-softening effect, residual deformation, and internal friction loss than that of the ABS/NBR TPVs, indicating the improvement of elasticity. Morphology studies showed that the fracture surface of ABS/NBR/DOP TPVs was relatively smoother, indicating the significantly improved elastic resilience ability.