Thermal analysis of an acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene/SWNT composite

Thermogravimetric analysis and differential thermal analysis were used to study the thermal degradation of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene/single-walled carbon nanotube composites under static air and nitrogen. For the dynamic analysis, two-step degradation was observed. Low concentrations of SWNTs (0.5 wt.%) tend to destabilize the first degradation step of ABS but reinforce it at the second step degradation. Further addition of SWNT, destabilizes the whole system by lowering both degradation peak temperatures. The activation energies of isothermal degradation were evaluated by using Freeman's model. Under both static air and nitrogen, the activation energy was lowered by the SWNTs. DSC analysis showed that the introduction of SWNTs increases the glass transition temperature of the composites and low concentration of SWNTs act as nucleating agents to the crystallization of ABS. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.