Mechanical properties of products of thermocatalytic and radiolytic styrene–acrylonitrile copolymerization

The mechanical properties of styrene (S)–acrylonitrile (AN) mixtures, ranging from 20 to 80 wt % S, polymerized by thermocatalytic and radiolytic techniques were studied. Maximum compressive and tensile strength was obtained for the mixture containing 60 wt % styrene. The hardness increased with styrene concentration up to 40 wt % and then remained nearly constant. Radiolytic copolymerization gave stronger copolymers than thermal copolymerization since irradiation enhances crosslinking. For the same composition, as the dose increases, the strength increases to a maximum and then decreases due to competing rates of crosslinking and degradation.