Structure and properties of heat-resistant ABS resins innovated via MSAMI random copolymer

Abstract

This work proposed an efficient method to synthesize acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) copolymer and α-Methylstyrene (α-MSt)/N-phenylmaleimide (NPMI)/Acrylonitrile (AN) (MSAMI) random copolymer via emulsion polymerization, aiming to combine the excellent heat resistance of MSAMI and numerous advantages of ABS resin including mechanical properties, processing and recyclability. The effects of the MSAMI content and α-MSt/AN ratio on the thermal performance, mechanical properties and the morphology of heat-resistant ABS were investigated by FITR, dynamic mechanical analyses (DMA), Vicat Softening Temperature (VST), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). As a result, the heat-resistant of ABS resin was obviously enhanced by MSAMI, and its glass transition temperature (Tg) could be extended with the increase of NPMI content. The Tg could reach 173°C when NPMI content was 20% at the same trend as the VST. Synthetically, the contradiction between the heat resistance and mechanical properties of ABS resin reached a good balance when the NPMI content was 15% and α-MSt/AN ratio was 69/31. In SEM, the fracture morphology of the heat-resistant ABS resin was gradually tended to be smooth with the increase of the NPMI content. Therefore, the MSAMI random copolymer was successful prepared, which provided insight for the synthesis of heat-resistant modifiers and promoted the potential application of heat-resistant modifiers in automobiles and aircraft.