Effect of Carbon Black on Adhesion, Wettability, Roughness, Impact, and Hardness of Styrene Acrylic Polymer for Surface Treatment
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30526/39.1.4176Keywords:
Styrene acrylic polymer, Carbon black, Adhesion, Wettability, Roughness, ImpactAbstract
Styrene acrylic polymer (SAP) coatings protect materials from damage. Their performance can be enhanced by adding microscopic materials such as carbon black (CB), which improves their surface energy and hardness. This research aimed to evaluate the effect of carbon black at concentrations of 5, 10, 15, and 20% using the casting method. SAP films with varying weight percentages of carbon black were prepared. The mixture was magnetically stirred at 25°C for 1 hour, then stirred in an ultrasonic bath for 30 minutes, poured into a 20 cm diameter mold, and dried at room temperature for 24 hours. The adhesion strength peaked at a 5% CB concentration, reaching approximately 590. However, higher concentrations caused a significant decrease in adhesion strength at 15% and 20% concentrations. Contact angles exhibited variable behavior, ranging from 86.93° at 5% to 35.53° at 20%, with a sharp decrease at 10% (54.52°). The surface roughness of pure SAP was 4.92 μm. Upon the addition of CB, the roughness peaked at 5% (9.69 μm), then decreased significantly with higher concentrations, stabilizing between 5.29 and 5.91 μm. Under increasing stress, films reinforced with 15–20% CB withstood the maximum device load (1880 g) without rupture, demonstrating high toughness. Hardness testing showed that CB affected the mechanical properties of the SAP. Hardness was highest at 5% CB (73.5°), with gradual increases and decreases thereafter, reaching 72.6° at 20%. The addition of CB to SAP improves mechanical properties and toughness up to a certain point (especially at 5%), after which further additives lead to decreased performance in adhesion and surface properties.
References
1. Stroganov V, Amelchenko M, Kraus E. Biodegradation of filled styrene–acrylic coatings in a laboratory kinetic plant. IOP Conf Ser Mater Sci Eng. 2020;890:012123.
2. Clyne TW, Hull D. An introduction to composite materials. 3rd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ Press; 2019. p.1.
3. Cao X, Wang Y, Zhang Y, Qian Z, Jiang G. Preparation and properties of polyaniline/hydroxypropyl methylcellulose composite conductive thin films. Materials (Basel). 2024;17:2687. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17112687
4. Nasr S. Applying the water-based emulsion polymer to develop specific properties of brick and concrete: synthesis and characterisation [Master’s thesis]. Borås (Sweden): Univ Borås; 2022.
5. Wang Q, Wang Z, Li C, Qiao X, Guan H, Zhou Z, Song D. Research progress in corrosion behavior and anti-corrosion methods of steel rebar in concrete. Metals (Basel). 2024;14(8):862. https://doi.org/10.3390/met14080862
6. Wilson AD, Nicholson JW. Surface coatings I. London: Elsevier Appl Sci Publ; 2017.
7. Jamali A, Evans PD. Use of a yeast protein-based intumescent fire-retardant bioadditive as thermal and mechanical reinforcement for a PVAc adhesive for wood products. Appl Sci (Basel). 2025;15:2051. https://doi.org/10.3390/app15042051
8. Abdullah AQ, Hussein SI, Ali NA, Mohammed AA, Mebed AM, Sedky A, Ni W, Huang G, Wang J, Nie B, Zhang Y, Zhou H. Comparative study on the effects of multi-walled carbon nanotubes and graphene nanoplates for improved thermal conductivity and dielectric properties of polyvinyl chloride. Diam Relat Mater. 2024;145:111143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diamond.2024.111143
9. Pan P, Svirskis D, Waterhouse GIN, Wu Z. Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose bioadhesive hydrogels for topical application and sustained drug release: effect of polyvinylpyrrolidone on physicomechanical properties. Pharmaceutics. 2023;15:2360. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics15092360
10. Boukfessa H, Bezzazi B. Effect of carbon black on curing and mechanical properties of natural rubber/acrylonitrile–butadiene rubber composites. J Appl Res Technol. 2021;19(3):194–201. https://doi.org/10.22201/icat.24486736e.2021.19.3.1686
11. Omran SM, Abdullah ET, Al-Zuhairi OA. Structural and infrared spectroscopy of polyvinylpyrrolidone/multi-walled carbon nanotubes nanocomposite. Iraqi J Phys. 2021;19(51):1–6. https://doi.org/10.30723/ijp.v19i51.691
12. Klyosov AA. Wood-plastic composites. Hoboken (NJ): John Wiley & Sons; 2007.
13. Bowman S, Jiang Q, Memon H, Qiu Y, Liu W, Wei Y. Effects of styrene–acrylic sizing on the mechanical properties of carbon fiber thermoplastic towpregs and composites. Molecules. 2018;23(3):547. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules23030547
14. Ebnesajjad S, Landrock AH. Adhesives technology handbook. 3rd ed. Oxford: Elsevier; 2014.
15. Gupta T. The black, the gray and the transparent. Carbon. 2017;:152.
16. Abbas AKM, Hussein SI. Improving mechanical properties, roughness, thermal stability, and contact angle of acrylic polymer by graphene and carbon fibre doping for waterproof coatings. J Polym Res. 2022;29:378. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10904-022-02384-z
17. Abd AK, Abbas QA. Surface treatment of epoxy/Al composite by dielectric barrier discharge at atmospheric pressure. Iraqi J Sci. 2023;64(6):2867–2876. https://doi.org/10.24996/ijs.2023.64.6.17
18. Sivakumar C, Muralidharan V, Choudhury BC, Dey D. Synergistic effect of graphene and carbon black on the mechanical and vibration-damping characteristics of styrene–butadiene rubber. Iran Polym J. 2025;34:17–27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13726-024-01349-y
19. ASTM International. ASTM D1709-04 and ASTM D4272-90: Standard test methods for impact resistance of plastic film by free-falling dart method. West Conshohocken (PA); 2004.
20. Seong Y, Sathi SGS, Park J, Park IS, Nah C. Role of carbon black for enhancing the mechanical properties of short aramid fiber reinforced ethylene–acrylic rubber. Fibers Polym. 2020;21:127–137. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12221-020-9346-5
21. Karpushkin E, Berkovich A, Sergeyev VG. Composites based on acrylic polymers and carbon nanotubes as precursors of carbon materials. Polym Sci Ser C. 2016;58(1):85–92. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1811238216010057
22. Awaja F, Gilbert M, Kelly G, Fox B, Pigram PJ. Adhesion of polymers. Prog Polym Sci. 2009;34(9):948–968. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2009.04.007
23. Liu D, Zhao W, Liu S, Cen Q, Xue Q. Comparative tribological and corrosion resistance properties of epoxy composite coatings reinforced with functionalized fullerene C60 and graphene. Surf Coat Technol. 2016;286:354–364. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2015.12.041
24. Sarimai S, Ratnawulan R, Yulkifli Y, Fauzi A. Fabrication of superhydrophobic CuO/polystyrene nanocomposite coating with variation concentration. J Phys Conf Ser. 2019;1185:012014. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1185/1/012014
25. Griffo R, Di Natale F, Minale M, Sirignano M, Parisi A, Carotenuto C. Analysis of carbon nanoparticle coatings via wettability. Nanomaterials (Basel). 2024;14:301. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14030301
26. Prajapati N, Smitirupa P, Sahoo P, Achary SK. Effect of filler loading on mechanical properties of natural carbon black reinforced polymer composites. Mater Today Proc. 2020;26:1892–1896. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.02.401
27. Song JW, Yan W, Chen Z, Liu Y, Hong SS. Effect of nano-carbon black content on wetting phenomenon of molten steel and alumina–carbon ceramic filter substrates. J Iron Steel Res Int. 2024;31:1900–1913. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42243-024-01193-7
28. Kissin YV. Dart impact testing of polyethylene film: mechanical interpretation and model. Macromol Mater Eng. 2008;293(1):66–77. https://doi.org/10.1002/mame.200700262
29. Oxfall H, Ariu G, Gkourmpis T, Rychwalski RW, Rigdahl M. Effect of carbon black on electrical and rheological properties of graphite nanoplatelets/poly(ethylene-butyl acrylate) composites. Express Polym Lett. 2015;9(1):66–76. https://doi.org/10.3144/expresspolymlett.2015.7
30. Boukfessa H, Bezzazi B. The effect of carbon black on the curing and mechanical properties of natural rubber/acrylonitrile–butadiene rubber composites. J Appl Res Technol. 2021;19(3):194–201. https://doi.org/10.22201/icat.24486736e.2021.19.3.1686
31. Al-Maamori MH, Hamza AF, Ehsan A. Effect of sulfur and nano-carbon black on the mechanical properties of hard rubber. J Univ Babylon Eng Sci. 2018;26(2).
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Ibn AL-Haitham Journal For Pure and Applied Sciences
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
licenseTermsHow to Cite
