Reprocessing of chromed ABS parts with chemical pickling and new chrome plating.

ABSTRACT: In this work, chrome‐plated acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS) parts containing defects in the deposited metal layer were pickled up to two times in hydrochloric and nitric acid under different immersion times. The influence of pickling on the properties of ABS was evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy–attenuated total reflection (FTIR–ATR), scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and roughness. The pickled parts were again chromed and evaluated by visual inspection and adhesion. The metallic layer was removed and a slight yellowing of the samples surface with the increase of pickling time. There were no significant changes in the thermal behavior of the material. Some of the components of ABS were removed, as evidenced by the reduction of the absorption peaks intensity in FTIR–ATR, by the increase of roughness and presence of pores on the surface. With the increase of the immersion time and the number of pickling, there was the formation of pores with larger sizes and decrease in roughness, making metal–polymer adhesion difficult. Only one pickling, under immersion time of 30 min, was adequate for the removal of the metallic layer, allowing new chrome plating. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. <bold>2018</bold>, <italic>135</italic>, 46131. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]