Thermal Degradation of HDPE/Caco3 Nanocomposites: Effect of Content of Nano and MFI

In the present study different series of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) nanocomposites, containing 1, 3 and 5 wt.% of carbonate calcium (CaCo3) nanoparticles and HDPE with different MFI were prepared by melt-mixing on a internal mixer(plasticorder PL2000 Brabender). From TGA analysis, the decomposition temperature of nanocomposites with surface treatment of nano and HDPE with high MFI increased and has higher resistance to thermal degradation. According to the SEM micrographs, it was found that a much better dispersion of nano CaCo3 in samples with higher MFI also according to the SEM and TEM measurement, was found that nano CaCo3 with surface treatment has better dispersion compared nano without surface treatment. The properties of HDPE and its nanocomposite were investigated through differential scanning calorimetery (DSC) test. The results of DSC tests showed that the addition of nano-sized calcium carbonate to HDPE caused to increase the heat capacity and crystallinity.

Keywords:

HDPE , Nano CaCo3 , Thermal degradation , Nanocomposite