Recycling of polycarbonate by blending with maleic anhydride grafted ABS

Recycling of used polycarbonate (PC) was conducted via melt blending with maleic anhydride grafted ABS (ABS-g-MA) using a twin-screw extruder. The toughness of waste PC was greatly improved through the modification of ABS-g-MA. The toughening mechanism was explored based on the morphology of the blends. The grafting of MA onto ABS was considered a key factor, which resulted in a special morphology of ABS domains dispersed in PC matrix. At a certain PC/ABS-g-MA weight ratio, the ABS domains connected together forming a network and gave rise to a maximum of the notched impact strength. (C) 2004 Published by Elsevier Ltd.