Effects of blend composition on the morphologies and physical properties of polycarbonate/acrylonitrile‐butadiene‐styrene blends

The morphologies and physical properties of twin‐screw‐extruded polycarbonate/acrylonitrile‐butadiene‐styrene (PC/ABS) blends with various blend ratios are studied. The needle‐like co‐continuous phase in PC‐rich blends changes to the sea‐island phase for blend ratios of more than 50 wt% ABS. While pure PC exhibits an almost‐Newtonian flow behavior, PC/ABS blends exhibit the interesting rheological transition. The viscosities of the ABS‐rich blends at low shear rates are almost equal to those of the pure ABS polymer. The yield stress for the PC/ABS blend ratio of 3:7 is the highest in composition. At the frequency of 10 rad/s, the PC‐rich blends exhibit highly viscous properties, whereas the ABS‐rich blends present highly elastic properties as the temperature increases. Moreover, the ABS polymer in the PC/ABS polymer blend induces significant change at the fracture surface of PC, transitioning from brittle to ductile nature.