| Abstract: | The β‐nucleating activity and toughening effect of acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS) graft copolymer on isotactic polypropylene (iPP) and the compatibilizing role of maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (PP‐g‐MAH) on the iPP/ABS blends were investigated. The results show that ABS can induce the formation of β‐crystal in iPP, and its β‐nucleating efficiency depends on its concentration and dispersibility. The relative content of β‐crystal form is up to 36.19% with the addition of 2% ABS. The tensile and impact properties of the iPP were dramatically enhanced by introducing ABS. The incorporation of PP‐g‐MAH into the iPP/ABS blends inhibits the formation of β‐crystal. The crystallization peaks of the blends shift toward higher temperature, due to the heterogeneous nucleation effect of PP‐g‐MAH on iPP. The toughness of iPP/ABS blends improved due to favorable interfacial interaction resulting from the compatibilization of PP‐g‐MAH is significantly better than the β‐crystal toughening effect induced by ABS. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 59:E317–E326, 2019. © 2019 Society of Plastics Engineers |
