Influence of epoxy resin on the properties of maleic anhydride functionalized acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer toughened polyamide 6 blends

Maleic anhydride functionalized acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer (ABS-g-MA) was used as an impact modifier of polyamide 6 (PA6). Epoxy resin was introduced into PA6/ABS-g-MA blends to further improve their properties. Notched Izod impact tests showed that the impact strength of PA6/ABS-g-MA could be improved from 253 to 800 J/m with the addition of epoxy resin when the ABS-g-MA content was set at 25 wt %. Differential scanning calorimetry results showed that the addition of epoxy resin made the crystallization temperature and melting temperature shift to lower temperatures; this indicated the decrease in the PA6 crystallization ability. Dynamic mechanical analysis testing showed that the addition of epoxy resin induced the glass-transition temperature of PA6 and the styrene-co-acrylonitrile copolymer phase to shift to higher temperatures due to the chemical reactions between PA6, ABS-g-MA, and epoxy resin. The scanning electron microscopy results indicated that the ABS-g-MA copolymer dispersed into the PA6 matrix uniformly and that the phase morphology of the PA6/ABS-g-MA blends did not change with the addition of the epoxy resin. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the epoxy resin did not change the deformation mechanisms of the PA6/ABS-g-MA blends. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 121: 909-915, 2011