Mechanical behavior of ABS plastic-matrix nanocomposites with three different carbon-based nanofillers

Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) polymer nanocomposite thin films with carbon-based nanofillers (CBNs: fullerene, carbon nanotubes, and graphene) were fabricated in a wet reversal process followed by hot pressing. To understand the effect of CBNs on the fabricated nanocomposites, tensile tests and nanoindentation tests were performed. The tensile strength of the fullerene composite was about 30 MPa based on the specimen containing 1 wt% of CBNs, which was measured to be up to 35% higher than the other two composites. In the nanoindentation test, the elastic modulus and hardness value decreased as the amount of CBNs increased. This is considered to be because the nanoindentation test reflects more mechanical behavior of the local part of the composite than the tensile test. In the tensile and nanoindentation tests, all of the nanofillers exhibited the mechanical properties of ABS polymers, among which the ABS composites with fullerene exhibited the best properties. It is concluded that nanofillers should be added appropriately, and in the case of polymers, nanofillers, which may be located between polymer chains such as fullerene, may be more efficient.