Comparative study of glut palmitate salt and polyethylene grafted maleic anhydride compatibilizer on the properties of silica filled high-density polyethylene composites

Abstract

This paper presents a comparative study of the use of polyethylene grafted maleic anhydride (PE-g-MAH) and glut palmitate salt (GP) as compatibilizers in silica-filled high-density polyethylene (HDPE) composites. The composites with varied compatibilizer loadings [0.5–3.0 phr] were prepared by melt mixing, followed by compression moulding. The interaction of compatibilizers in the composite system was investigated using Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR), while tensile and impact tests were performed to evaluate the mechanical properties of the composites. The thermal properties were also determined. Mechanical studies indicated that composite prepared at 1 phr GP exhibited higher tensile strength, elongation at break and impact strength than PE-g-MAH composites under the same loading. Degree of crystallinity (Xc) calculated from differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermal stability investigated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) revealed that composites with GP had higher Xc and thermal stability values than composites with PE-g-MAH. In addition, the water absorption of GP compatibilized composite was lower than that for the PE-g-MAH.