The effect of silica polymorphs on the thermomechanical properties of 0, 5, 10, and 20 wt % silica particles-reinforced-based poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) composites have been studied as a function of temperature using dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). The silica polymorphs exhibited quartz (Q), cristobalite (C), and amorphous (A) phases, which were obtained by processing natural silica sand. The DMA thermomechanical properties were determined in tensile (E) and shear (G) modes. The maximum storage moduli (E 0 and G 0 ) were achieved by samples with 20 wt % silica for all type of fillers. These values increased approximately 12 times for PEG/Q, 10 times for PEG/A, and 11 times for PEG/C composites compared to the pure PEG. Furthermore, the Poisson's ratio values of the composites were filler phase dependent, that is, 0.39-0.47 for PEG/Q, 0.15-0.18 for PEG/A, and somewhat anomalous for PEG/C composites.

Polyethylene glycol (PEG)/quartz (denoted as BP/Q) composites have been investigated as candidates of phase change materials (PCMs) due to their thermomechanical properties around the glass transition temperature as well as thermal properties between 30 and 600 C. Quartz (q-SiO 2 ) powders were extracted from local sand in Tanah Laut, Pelaihari, South Kalimantan, Indonesia. The composites were prepared by dispersing q-SiO 2 powders in the PEG matrix followed by the wet mixing process. The thermal properties of the composites were characterized using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), while the thermomechanical properties were examined using a dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA) in a three-point bending mode around the PEG glass transition temperature range (−100-50 C). The morphology and interface bonding were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). From the DSC measurement, the endothermic peak of the composites showed a shift of approximately 7-12 C toward higher temperatures than that of the pure polymer. The melting enthalpy values (ΔH m ) of the BP/Q composites covered the required PCM application range, that is, between 139 and 182 J/g. The TGA of the composites showed that thermal degradation occurs in the range of 250-450 C. We found that solid-solid PCMs (ssPCMs) were successfully fabricated with the addition of 10 and 20 wt% q-SiO 2 . From DMA characterization, the BP/Q 20 wt% composite exhibited the maximum E' and the minimum energy dissipation (E"). Its E' value was approximately 250 MPa more than that of the pure PEG. The glass transition (T g ) temperatures of PEG and BP/Q composites (5, 10, and 20 wt%) were around −24.5, −19.1, −17.1, and − 5.3 C, respectively. In addition, the E" and tan δ values decreased with q-SiO 2 filler content. Furthermore, the Cole-Cole plots of the BP/Q composites revealed a better interfacial bonding between the q-SiO 2 and the PEG matrix in the composites with higher silica content. A compact morphology was shown by the BP/Q 20 wt% composite due to high silica concentration.

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The effect of tetragonal‐zirconia nanoparticle inclusion on the temperature‐dependent storage modulus, or the temperature‐degradation rate, of polyethylene glycol (PEG)‐based composites was investigated using shear‐mode dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) at temperatures ranging from room temperature up to 75°C. We carried out further investigations in the rubbery area in terms of the characteristic of the degradation rate with temperature and compared it with silica‐quartz‐filled PEG composites, which exhibited a potential as phase‐change materials (PCMs). The investigation began by plotting the shear storage modulus (G′) of the composites and observing the slopes of the curves in the range of the rubbery area, which were assumed to follow a straight‐line equation. Then, we completed the investigation by developing and introducing a temperature‐dependent storage modulus model in the rubbery area for describing the storage modulus of such filler‐dispersed PEG/inorganic composites, to yield the degradation rates of the composites. The new model includes parameters k1 and C that are associated with the degradation rate and the amount of a filler, respectively. The model shows a satisfactory agreement with the experimental data of G′ in the rubbery area, being parameter k1 is associated with a linear degradation rate.

Data in this article presents the dynamic thermomechanical properties of PEG/amorphous-silica composites with different silica content, i.e. 0, 20 and 40% by weight. These composites were prepared using a solid-state method. The morphology of the amorphous-silica filler powder was determined using the transmission electron microscopes (TEM). Furthermore, the storage modulus (G′) data as a function of temperature were determined from the dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) data in a shear mode. Moreover, the melting temperature and the activation energy for the degradation of each sample were also reported.