Effect of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene on the shape memory, mechanical, and thermal properties of thermoplastic polyurethane

A polymer blend based on thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) was prepared using a melt-blending technique, and its mechanical, thermal, and shape memory properties were investigated. According to the scanning electron microscopy morphology results, when the content of ABS was less than 20 wt%, the TPU appeared as a continuous phase, and ABS appeared as a dispersed phase. The presence of distinguishable boundaries at the polymer interfaces indicated that the TPU/ABS blend was an immiscible system. Furthermore, the 80/20 blend sample exhibited the best dispersion of ABS in TPU. Tensile testing indicated that addition of ABS to the TPU matrix led to improvement of the Young's modulus as well as reduction of the elongation at break and tensile strength. The impact resistance of the blends depended on the amount of ABS, and the maximal growth was observed for the 80/20 blend. Dynamic mechanical investigations support the morphological and mechanical results. The differential scanning calorimetry results also indicated that the two polymers were immiscible. The shape memory test results indicated that as the amount of ABS increased to 20 wt% in the TPU polymer and the shape recovery of the blend first slightly decreased and then suddenly decreased to 66.5% with the addition of 30 wt% of ABS. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 24:E96-E104, 2018. (c) 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers