Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene degradation mechanisms

A. Arostegui, M. Sarrionandia, J. Aurrekoetxea, and I. Urrutibeas-coa, Effect of dissolution-based recycling on the degradation and the mechanical properties of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer, Polym. Degrad. Stab., 91(ll) 2768-2774, November 2006. 

K.H. Pawlowski and B. Schartel, Flame retardancy mechanisms of aryl phosphates incombination with boehmite in bisphenol A polycarbonate/acrylonitrile butadiene styrene blends, Polym. Degrad. Stabil., 2008, 93 657-667. 

After the examination of the PS photooxidation mechanism, a comparison of the photochemical behavior of PS with that of some of its copolymers and blends is reported in this chapter. The copolymers studied include styrene-stat-acrylo-nitrile (SAN) and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS). The blends studied are AES (acrylonitrile-EPDM-styrene) (EPDM = ethylene-propylene-diene-monomer) and a blend of poly(vinyl methyl ether) (PVME) and PS (PVME-PS). The components of the copolymers are chemically bonded. In the case of the blends, PS and one or more polymers are mixed. The copolymers or the blends can be homogeneous (miscible components) or phase separated. The potential interactions occurring during the photodegradation of the various components may be different if they are chemically bonded or not, homogeneously dispersed or spatially separated. Another important aspect is the nature, the proportions and the behavior towards the photooxidation of the components added to PS. How will a component which is less or more photodegradable than PS influence the degradation of the copolymer or the blend We show in this chapter how the... 

Styrenic plastics such as acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene graft copolymers (ABS) and impact-resistant polystyrenes are very sensitive towards oxidation, mainly because of their butadiene content. Degradation on weathering starts at the surface and results in rapid loss of mechanical properties... 

ABS consists of a styrene/acrylonitrile continuous phase partially grafted to a dispersed butadiene phase. Butadiene acts as an impact modifier, and imparts excellent mechanical properties to the material. Improvement of the impact-modifying properties of ABS during melt processing and product use focuses on protecting the poly butadiene phase from degradation. Polybutadiene is particularly susceptible to oxidation due to the presence of residual double bonds [37]. The properties of ABS are tabulated in Table 2.7. 

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