Flame retarding PC/ABS resins having superior thermomechanical properties

Triphenyl phosphate (TPP) is well known to be one of the most effective flame retardants for acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer (ABS) and its blending resins, such as polycarbonate (PC)/ABS, among various phosphorous-based compounds. However, TPP can also play a role as a plasticizer, which decreases the mechanical properties of PC/ABS resins at high temperature. Furthermore considerable amount of TPP has to be evaporated during molding process due on its much lower evaporation temperature. To overcome these shortcomings, we tried to immobilize TPP by grafting on butadiene moiety of ABS. FT-IR analysis of prepared TPP-grafted ABS (ABS-g-TPP) comparing with TPP, ABS and their blend confirmed that chemical reactions happened between TPP and ABS resins and it was attributed to the graft reaction of TPP onto butadiene moieties. Prepared ABS-g-TPP resins were blended with PC at various compositions to be prepared as testing specimens by injection molding. The physical characteristics such as mechanical properties, thermal stability, and flame retarding properties of the PC/ABS-TPP graft copolymer were analyzed through Vicat softening temperature, IZOD impact strength, transmission electron microscope, and UL94 flame retardation tests. Results showed that PC/ABS-g-TPP resin takes better thermomechanical properties than the existing PC/ABS resins at relatively low additional TPP amounts.