Investigating the Effect of ABS on the Mechanical Properties, Morphology, Printability, and 4D Printing of PETG-ABS Blends

In this study, Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) with three different ratios of 30%, 50%, and 70% is used to enhance the shape memory and mechanical properties of Polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG). Additionally, morphology, printability, and dynamic thermomechanical analysis are also examined. The thermal test results show that PETG-ABS compounds have two transition temperatures in the range of 80 and 110 °C, which are related to the components. By changing the weight percentage of PETG from 30 to 70%, three morphologies of matrix-droplet, sea-island, and combination of co-continuous and matrix-droplet are observed. The results of the mechanical properties show an increase in strength with the increase of ABS, which can be justified due to the higher strength of ABS compared to PETG. The highest tensile strength of 32.48 MPa and 15.16% elongation is obtained for PETG-ABS(30-70) and PETG-ABS(70-30), respectively. Due to the better shape memory performance of PETG, PETG-ABS(50-50) and PETG-ABS(70-30) have complete shape recovery, and with the increase of PETG, the shape recovery rate also increased. This diversity in morphology, mechanical properties, and shape memory effect is one of the goals of this research which is well fulfilled.