Iron Oxidation in a Mixture with Polycarbonate after Plastic Deformation under High Pressure

Abstract

Oxidation of a mixture of Fe powder with polycarbonate based on bisphenol-A was studied on a Q500 thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) after plastic deformation under a pressure of 10 and 25 kb in dynamic and isothermal heating modes. Analysis of the TGA curves of the resulting metal–polymer composite showed the presence of two sections: a section of weight loss and growth. Their temperature and weight values have been determined, and the baric dependence of these parameters has been established, including the oxidizability of the Fe powder. After programmed annealing of the metal–polymer mixture activated by deformation, a porous metal-oxide-polymer nanocomposite is formed, consisting of nanoparticles coated with a thin PC nanolayer (nanowires and hematite nanolayers), which grow vertically from iron particles reinforcing the surrounding polymer matrix. The presence of polycarbonate and its decomposition products on the surface of oxidized Fe particles was established. Removal of the formed “coating” increases the oxidizability of the metal. A decrease in the temperature of thermal decomposition of polycarbonate (from 400 to 270°C) during its interaction with the oxidized surface of iron particles is shown, which is explained by the high catalytic activity of one-dimensional hematite nanostructures formed during oxidation of iron particles.