Synthesis of the reactive hindered phenol antioxidant 3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl methyl isobutylene ester and its application in ABS resin

In this study, a reactive hindered phenol antioxidant, 3,5-di- tert -butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl methyl isobutylene ester (DBHMIE), was synthesized and used to improve the antioxidant performance of ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene terpolymer) resin. The chemical structure of DBHMIE was determined with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and 13 C NMR spectroscopy. Moreover, the effects of the DBHMIE content on the antioxidant capabilities, thermal stabilities, tensile strengths, impact strengths, and morphologies of the ABS/antioxidant systems were investigated. The results indicated that the oxidation induction temperatures of the systems increased from 229.7 to 245.4°C as the DBHMIE content was increased from 0 to 0.5 wt%. The 5% mass loss temperature of the system was increased from 338.4 to 347.8°C by the addition of 0.3 wt% DBHMIE. The impact strengths of the systems increased with increasing DBHMIE content up to 0.1 wt% and then decreased. The addition of DBHMIE did not significantly affect the tensile strength of the ABS resin. SEM images showed that the DBHMIE was uniformly distributed in the ABS resin at low DBHMIE contents and agglomerated at high DBHMIE contents.