Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) is a thermoplastic polymer widely used in several everyday life applications; moreover, it is also one of the most employed plastics in contemporary artworks and design objects. In this study, the chemical and thermal properties of an ABS-based polymer and its photo-degradation process were investigated through a multi-analytical approach based on thermal, mass spectrometric and spectroscopic techniques. LEGO(& REG;) building blocks were selected for studying the ABS properties. First, the composition of unaged LEGO(& REG;) bricks was determined in terms of polymer composition and thermal stability; then, the bricks were subjected to UV-Vis photo-oxidative-accelerated ageing for evaluation of possible degradation processes. The modifications of the chemical and thermal properties were monitored in time by a multi-technique approach aimed at improving the current knowledge of ABS photodegradation, employing pyrolysis online with gas chromatography and evolved gas analysis, coupled with mass spectrometric detection (Py-GC-MS and EGA-MS), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and corroborated by external reflection FT-IR spectroscopy. The multimodal approach provided new evidence on the two-step degradation pathway proposed for ABS, defining molecular markers for polybutadiene oxidation and styrene-acrylonitrile depolymerization. Moreover, the results highlighted the feasibility of correlating accurate compositional and thermal data acquired by bulk techniques with external reflection FT-IR spectroscopy as a non-invasive portable tool to monitor the state of conservation of plastic museum objects in-situ.

Sabatini, F., Pizzimenti, S., Bargagli, I., Degano, I., Duce, C., Cartechini, L., et al. (2023). A Thermal Analytical Study of LEGO® Bricks for Investigating Light-Stability of ABS. POLYMERS, 15(15) [10.3390/polym15153267].

A Thermal Analytical Study of LEGO® Bricks for Investigating Light-Stability of ABS

Sabatini F.
Primo
;
2023

Abstract

Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) is a thermoplastic polymer widely used in several everyday life applications; moreover, it is also one of the most employed plastics in contemporary artworks and design objects. In this study, the chemical and thermal properties of an ABS-based polymer and its photo-degradation process were investigated through a multi-analytical approach based on thermal, mass spectrometric and spectroscopic techniques. LEGO(& REG;) building blocks were selected for studying the ABS properties. First, the composition of unaged LEGO(& REG;) bricks was determined in terms of polymer composition and thermal stability; then, the bricks were subjected to UV-Vis photo-oxidative-accelerated ageing for evaluation of possible degradation processes. The modifications of the chemical and thermal properties were monitored in time by a multi-technique approach aimed at improving the current knowledge of ABS photodegradation, employing pyrolysis online with gas chromatography and evolved gas analysis, coupled with mass spectrometric detection (Py-GC-MS and EGA-MS), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and corroborated by external reflection FT-IR spectroscopy. The multimodal approach provided new evidence on the two-step degradation pathway proposed for ABS, defining molecular markers for polybutadiene oxidation and styrene-acrylonitrile depolymerization. Moreover, the results highlighted the feasibility of correlating accurate compositional and thermal data acquired by bulk techniques with external reflection FT-IR spectroscopy as a non-invasive portable tool to monitor the state of conservation of plastic museum objects in-situ.
Articolo in rivista - Articolo scientifico
ABS; degradation; DSC; EGA-MS; Py-GC/MS; TGA;
English
31-lug-2023
2023
15
15
3267
open
Sabatini, F., Pizzimenti, S., Bargagli, I., Degano, I., Duce, C., Cartechini, L., et al. (2023). A Thermal Analytical Study of LEGO® Bricks for Investigating Light-Stability of ABS. POLYMERS, 15(15) [10.3390/polym15153267].
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Sabatini-2023-Polymers-VoR.pdf

accesso aperto

Tipologia di allegato: Publisher’s Version (Version of Record, VoR)
Licenza: Creative Commons
Dimensione 2.31 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
2.31 MB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/470982
Citazioni
  • Scopus 5
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 5
Social impact