Preparation of Poly(Styrene-<italic>co</italic>-Acrylonitrile)-Grafted Attapulgite via Simultaneous Reverse and Normal Initiation Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (SR&NI ATRP) and Its Effect on Polycarbonate/Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene Terpolymer Ternary Composites.

AbstractTo further improve the comprehensive properties of polycarbonate/acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene terpolymer blends (PC/ABS), in this work, styrene–acrylonitrile copolymer [P(St-<italic>co</italic>-An)] was grafted on the surface of attapulgite particles (ATP) by simultaneous reverse and normal initiation ATRP (SR&NI ATRP) to yield ATP@P(St-<italic>co</italic>-An) hybrid particles. Then a series of PC/ABS/ATP@P(St-<italic>co</italic>-An) composites were prepared <italic>via</italic> the melt blending method. The effects of ATP@P(St-<italic>co</italic>-An) content on the morphological, mechanical, thermal and rheological properties of the composites were investigated in detail. The core-shell ATP@P(St-co-An) hybrid particles with the polymer layer thickness of 20-40 nm were synthesized successfully according to the results of X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The improvement in mechanical properties, reduced glass transition temperature (<italic>T</italic>g) difference between PC and ABS and micromorphology changes of the composites proved the compatibilization, strengthening, and toughening effect of the ATP@P(St-<italic>co</italic>-An). Compared with the PC/ABS blend, with strength and toughness of 50.8 MPa and 56.3 kJ/m2, when the ATP@P(St-<italic>co</italic>-An) content was 4 wt%, a reasonable balance (85.8 MPa and 86.2 kJ/m2) between strength and toughness was achieved with substantially enhanced thermal stability. Moreover, the composite showed more remarkable non-Newtonian behavior, and its processability was also improved. We believe this work provides an effective approach to optimize the compatibility and comprehensive properties of PC/ABS blends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]