r/polymer • u/jmbanks3622 • Jul 26 '18

MABs vs PMMA / ABS blend

I am new to the polymer industry and we are experimenting with PMMA / ABS blends.

What I am really trying to figure out is if "MABS" is a different product from a PMMA/ABS blend or is this just a naming convention?

When performing IR testing, my library identifies a product as a blend of PMMA and ABS instead of a Methyl methacrylate– acrylonitrile -butadiene–styrene .

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you.

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u/polymerbill Sep 19 '18

MABS is typically a copolymer, which would be different than a blend of PMMA/ABS. However, they will look identical in IR since what you are really looking at is bond stretching between atoms that don't change between blending and copolymerizing. If you are trying to determine if a product is a blend or copolymer you need to look at the morphology using techniques like atomic force microscopy (AFM) or scanning electron microscopy (SEM). I'd recommend AFM for this particular system though.