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4704599 
Journal Article 
Plating on acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) plastic: a review 
Olivera, S; Muralidhara, HB; Venkatesh, K; Gopalakrishna, K; Vivek, CS 
2016 
Yes 
Journal of Materials Science
ISSN: 0022-2461
EISSN: 1573-4803 
51 
8 
3657-3674 
English 
WOS:000369000700001 
ABS is an engineering plastic that has butadiene part uniformly distributed over the acrylonitrile-styrene matrix. It possesses excellent toughness, good dimensional stability, easy processing ability, chemical resistance, and cheapness. However, it suffers from inherent shortcomings in terms of mechanical strength and vulnerability to environmental conditions. Furthermore, it is non-conducting and easily fretted. Plating on ABS can serve to enhance the strength and structural integrity as well as to improve durability and thermal resistance resulting in metallic properties on the ABS material. ABS is described as the most suitable candidate for plating because it is possible to deposit an adherent metal coating on it by only the use of chemical pretreatment process and without the use of any mechanical abrasion. This article aims to review the history of ABS plastics, properties of ABS, processes and mechanisms of plating, and studies of plating on ABS involving mainly eco-friendly methods of plating by discussing the literature published in recent years. The details of electroplating of ABS carried out in the authors' laboratory are also presented. 
article; coatings; dimensional stability; durability; engineering; environmental factors; heat tolerance; plastics