Effect of functionality levels and compatibility of polycarbonate blends with maleic anhydride grafted ABS

ABS was melt grafted with maleic anhydride at three different levels of 1, 2, and 3 wt %. These three different modified ABSs were melt blended with polycarbonate using a single-screw extruder to choose a suitable maleic anhydride grafting level on ABS for better performance. For the compatibility study, binary blends of polycarbonate with ABS and maleic anhydride-grafted ABS were prepared over the entire range of compositions. Compatibility of these blends was studied using a Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer and by Differential Scanning Calorimetry. Both techniques suggest more partial compatibility for modified blend systems. In addition to this, DSC thermograms show multiple peaks between the transition points of ABS fractions and polycarbonate fractions for the polycarbonate/maleic anhydride-grafted ABS blends. These multiple peaks are characteristic of better partial compatibility with fine microstructure. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 74: 2102–2110, 1999