The Morphology and Mechanical Properties of Polycarbonate/Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene Modified by Ar Ion Beam Irradiation

Abstract

This study examined the surface morphological evolution of polycarbonate and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (PC/ABS) irradiated with an Ar ion beam using an ion beam system. PC was not affected by the Ar ion beam treatment at a lower ion beam treatment times but the ABS portion formed a foam-like nanostructure at the surface. On the other hand, both PC and ABS formed nanostructures with length of 100 to 120 nm and a mean diameter of approximate to 3 5 nm at longer beam treatment times. The Raman and FTIR spectra revealed polymer chain scissioning. Nanoindentation showed that the hardness and elastic modulus of the PC/ABS decreases from 0.22 to 0.18 GPa and from 3.39 to 2.98 GPa, respectively with increasing Ar ion beam treatment time due to the surface nano-structures formed by Ar ion beam.