Tensile, rheological properties, thermal stability, and morphology of ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer/silica nanocomposites using EVA-g-maleic anhydride

Abstract

In this article, we present a study on the properties of ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer/silica nanocomposites prepared in absence and presence of EVA-g-maleic anhydride as a compatibilizer between silica nanoparticles and ethylene vinyl acetate matrix. A series of ethylene vinyl acetate/silica nanocomposites with different contents of silica nanoparticles were prepared by solution method. EVA-g-maleic anhydride with 0.5 wt% maleic anhydride groups was added to all ethylene vinyl acetate/silica nanocomposites. Fourier transform infrared, field emission scanning electron microscopy, rheology behavior, and thermogravimetry analysis were used to characterize the structure, morphology, rheological, and thermal properties of the nanocomposites, respectively. The Fourier transform infrared spectra and field emission scanning electron microscopy micrographs showed that the hydroxyl groups on the surface of silica nanoparticles interact with maleic anhydride groups in EVA-g-maleic anhydride and lead to a finer dispersion of individual silica nanoparticles in the ethylene vinyl acetate matrix. The rheological properties and thermal stability of ethylene vinyl acetate/silica nanocomposites were significantly increased after adding EVA-g-maleic anhydride into the nanocomposites. Mechanical properties including tensile strength and elongation at break of the nanocomposites were mainly affected by the content of silica nanoparticles. For the tensile strength as well as elongation at break of the nanocomposites, a maximum value was observed at the content of 0.5 wt% of silica nanoparticles. The addition of EVA-g-maleic anhydride into ethylene vinyl acetate/silica nanocomposites resulted in a further improvement of mechanical properties of the nanocomposites.

Gas permeability and permselectivity properties of ethylene vinyl acetate/sepiolite mixed matrix membranes

“…As a result, the crystallizable chains are no longer able to be folded as well as before m-sepiolite addition. Similar results have been recorded in the literature [11,26,29,30]. It should also be mentioned that in a good agreement with the aforementioned studies, melting point has not changed significantly, such that all the samples showed melting point at around 71-72 °C.…”

“…Where ‫ܪ߂‬ , and ‫ܪ߂‬ * are the fusion enthalpy of the sample, and the fusion enthalpy of polyethylene (PE) with 100% crystallinity, respectively [26]. The value of ‫ܪ߂‬ * has widely been reported to be about 293 J/g for PE with 100% crystallinity [27,28].…”

Modification of Interfacial Interactions in Ceramic-Polymer Nanocomposites by Grafting: Morphology and Properties for Powder Injection Molding and Additive Manufacturing

“…In fact, the was the only parameter significantly different between HDPE00 and AAHDPE00 (Figure 7) with the non-grafted polymer having a significantly larger value. The incorporation of the particles should result in an increase in the strength and stiffness of the composites [21][22][23]27,74]. This behavior is observed for AAHDPE30 with an increase of 18% in and 98% in with respect to the values of AAHDPE00 (Table 6).…”

“…The presence of the zirconia particle results in a decrease in the ε UTS of 91% in HDPE30 compared to HDPE00 and of 46% in AAHDPE30 compared to AAHDPE00 (Table 6). The decrease in the ε UTS is produced by the restriction of movement of the polymer by the rigid particles which do not elongate, resulting in a reduction in the ductility of the material [21][22][23]27,74].…”

“…Moreover, short molecules such as the fatty acids do not have strong entanglements with the rest of the polymeric components, which result in poor mechanical properties [13]. Another strategy is the use of polymers grafted with a polar component such as maleic anhydride or acrylic acid, which can be incorporated as a backbone [12,20] or as a compatibilizer [5,[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]. The improvement of the adhesion to the filler with the use of grafted polymers results in a better dispersion of the filler [27,28] and in an increase in the mechanical properties [5,[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28].…”