Color changes due to thermal ageing and artificial weathering of pigmented and textured ABS

Abstract

Acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene copolymers (ABS) are known to be sensitive towards ageing which can lead to color changes, primary interest in this study. The color changes were expressed in terms of the CIELAB color system. ABS plaques were subjected to heat ageing and artificial weathering. Uncolored ABS and dark gray colored specimens were employed. The pigmented ABS plaques were also imposed with different surface textures. In general, the uncolored material suffered from the most severe discoloration and the artificial weathering produced the strongest effect. For both types of specimens, a clear yellowing took place. Both the pigment system and the surface texture affected the color development during the ageing test. The latter can be of significant importance in certain applications when components with different surface textures are placed adjacent to each other. The surface micro‐hardness increased with increasing ageing time and its change followed that of the discoloration. Chemical changes of the surface layers were characterized by FTIR and were in accordance with results reported in the literature; i.e., an increase of the bands associated with carbonyl groups with increasing ageing time and a decrease of the bands associated with the polybutadiene phase clearly indicated chemical degradation due to ageing treatments. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2013. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers

Aging and Degradation of Printed Materials

“…Oxidative degradation can be initiated by three factors such as UV light, heat, or mechanical stress in the presence of oxygen atmosphere (Iannuzzi, Mattsson, & Rigdahl, 2013). Free radicals are formed which react with oxygen-producing oxy-and peroxyradicals.…”

“…Oxidation occurs at every stage of life of the polymer during the manufacturing processes, usage, and storage (Iannuzzi et al, 2013). The rate of oxidation depends on the number of double bonds present in the macromolecule.…”

“…The color of the polymer can be measured spectrophotometrically and DE value (color change with respect to unaged prints) can be determined (Iannuzzi et al, 2013). The color of the polymer can be measured spectrophotometrically and DE value (color change with respect to unaged prints) can be determined (Iannuzzi et al, 2013).…”

Influence of acrylic content in PBA‐SAN on the mechanical properties of PBA‐SAN and PBA‐SAN/SAN blends

“…Acrylonitrile‐butadiene‐styrene (ABS) terpolymer is used in an extensive range of applications due to its good mechanical properties, heat distortion temperature (HDT), chemical resistance, and processability . Core‐shell structured ABS is normally prepared by the compounding of the glassy acrylonitrile‐styrene copolymer (SAN) with rubbery polybutadiene‐g‐poly(styrene‐acrylonitrile) (PB‐g‐SAN).…”

“…However, ABS has a main drawback‐the physical/chemical aging. The polybutadiene in the core is quite sensitive to the ultraviolet radiation and results in a continuous decline in the mechanical properties and color changes . Thus, the poor aging performance restricts the applications of ABS in many outdoor areas.…”