HDPE/SILICA COMPOSITES-PART II: EFFECT OF SILICA PARTICLE SIZE AND SILICA MODIFICATION ON THE THERMAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

Abstract

In this work, the effect of silica particle size and organosilane type used in the silica organofunctionalization on the thermal and mechanical properties of high-density polyethylene (HDPE)/silica composites were evaluated. HDPE/silica composites were prepared by the extrusion method using two types of silica: fumed silica, with nanometric particle size and silica gel, micrometric, modified with organosilanes containing methyl or octyl functional groups. Silicas were added to the HDPE at 1% v/v concentration. The addition of the silicas to the HDPE did not influence the melt (Tm) and the crystallization (Tc) temperatures of the resulting composites but influenced its crystallinity. The mechanical property of Izod impact strength, the dynamicmechanical rheological test (DMTA) and the surface contact angle analysis showed improvements in relation to pure HDPE when used methyl-modified pyrogenic silica as filler. This result suggests that the surface modification of pyrogenic silica with methylsilane groups results in a stronger interaction of this silica with the HDPE matrix. This effect was not observed for micron-sized silica gel, where modification with organosilanes was not sufficient to guarantee interfacial interaction with the HDPE matrix.