Aiming to develop acrylonitrile–butadiene–
styrene (ABS) composites with enhanced ultraviolet stability,
a series of formulations were prepared by melt
compounding and evaluated by different characterization
techniques. The influence of rutile titanium dioxide (TiO2)
and its combination with furnace carbon black (CB) on the
viscoelastic properties of neat ABS was studied by
dynamic mechanical analysis. An increase in the glass
transition (Tg) dynamics ascribed to the rubbery phase as a
function of exposure time was observed. A greater contribution
of CB nanoparticles in combination with TiO2 to
minimize the modifications on the Tg of the butadienic
component was clearly seen. Quasi-static and spectrophotometry
results are in good agreement, showing the efficiency
of TiO2 submicron particles and CB/TiO2 against
photo-oxidative degradation of neat ABS. A different
behaviour was observed for modified ABS/TiO2 and ABS/
CB/TiO2 composites with light stabilizers, antioxidants and
combinations of them. While the TiO2 efficiency was
enhanced by the incorporation of combinations of light
stabilizers and antioxidants, poor results were observed for
modified ABS/CB/TiO2 composites as a consequence of
antagonistic interactions. It was concluded that formulations
of ABS/CB/TiO2 with light stabilizers and ultraviolet
absorbers are unacceptable for common applications.