Abstract
The incorporation of micrometer sized silica particles on poly (ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) - EVA - residues from the footwear industry was evaluated. The effects of the processing parameters - temperature and mixing ratio - on the mechanical behavior of molded plates of neat recycled EVA and EVA/silica composites were also investigated. The mechanical properties measured by the tensile test, the fractographic analysis by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the 13C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) showed a reduced EVA to silica compatibility. Therefore, incorporation of untreated silica to recycled EVA copolymer produced a slight decrease on the mechanical performance of EVA/silica composites in respect to neat EVA copolymer. The NMR analysis also shows that the crosslinking process on recycled EVA may be occurring at the carbonyl group.
Highlights
Nowadays, the environmental pollution produced by industry residues is one of the largest concerns of human society
The structural information from the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) analysis was matched with the tensile mechanical properties and scanning electron microscopy analysis performed on the tensile fracture surfaces of the composites
The experimental results have shown that both temperature and mixing rate can alter the mechanical properties of neat recycled EVA copolymer and EVA-silica composites
Summary
The environmental pollution produced by industry residues is one of the largest concerns of human society. The copolymer poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate), EVA, is a very flexible polymer suitable for films, flexible tubes and catheters[1]. This copolymer of moderate price is largely used by the footwear industry as a material for shoes’ sole. The incorporation of inorganic particles, such as silica in recycled EVA, has an important role in the improvement of shoes’ sole mechanical properties[2,3,4]. NMR spectroscopy is an extremely powerful technique to characterize the material’s structure and dynamics. This method can supply information to the chemical structure, chemical composition, tacticity, crystallinity and molecular dynamics[8,9]. The structural information from the NMR analysis was matched with the tensile mechanical properties and scanning electron microscopy analysis performed on the tensile fracture surfaces of the composites
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