Filler effect of potato starch and urea on degradation of linear low density polyethylene composites

Abstract

Starch and urea are used as fillers, owing to their good mechanical and degradable properties, in linear low density polyethylene matrix. Composites of varying amount of starch and urea composition are prepared. Various properties like tensile strength, elongation at break, Young's modulus, shore-D hardness, and water absorption are studied. The tensile strength, elongation at break, Young's modulus, and Shore-D hardness decrease with maleic anhydride treatment of starch and urea for polymer composites. On increasing the amount of filler in the composites, the mechanical properties decrease. The soil-burial treatment of these composites also causes reduction in these properties. The absorption of water increases for one month and decreases later during the period 2–5 months. The increase in absorption might be due to the onset of degradation of composites. The degradation of the composites is also observed by the presence of grooves and pits in optical micrographs of soil-exposed composites.