Reactive processing of maleic anhydride-grafted ABS and its compatibilizing effect on PC/ABS blends

Polymer compatibilizer agents are crucial for industrial materials development. Compatibilizer agents may be prepared by melt-grafting in the reactive extrusion process which is cheaper and environmentally friendly. Maleic anhydride-grafted acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS-g-MA) has emerged as a relevant compatibilizer agent for immiscible blends, like polycarbonate (PC)/ABS. In this work, ABS-g-MA was prepared by a simple reactive extrusion process using ABS, maleic anhydride (MA) and benzoyl peroxide (BPO). The MA:BPO ratios of 1:0.5 and 1:1 varying the content of MA by 1, 2 and 5 wt% were investigated. The grafting reaction was confirmed through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), grafted degree (GD%), thermal and rheological analysis. The effectiveness of the compatibilizer agent was evaluated in PC/ABS blends (70/30 and 85/15 blend ratios). The addition of 5 wt% of ABS-g-MA (5 MA:2.5 BPO) in the PC/ABS blends promoted an expressive reduction of ABS domain sizes and better dispersion in the PC matrix.