STUDY OF THE KINETICS OF THERMAL DEGRADATION OF UNSATURATED POLYESTER AND POLYESTER/ SILICA NANOPARTICLES COMPOSITES BY TGA AND DSC ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES

Abstract

Composites are multi-phase materials that have superior engineering properties; the combination of their constituent phases achieves these properties. Nanoparticle-reinforced polymeric composites (NPCs) are new types of composites that have attracted a lot of attention recently and rapidly emerging as a multidisciplinary research activity whose results could widen the applications of polymers to the benefit of many different industries. The aim of research to analyze the effect of adding different percentages (10, 20, and 30%) of silica nanoparticles into unsaturated polyester (UPE) and identification of the thermal stability and decomposition kinetics for them. In this research, the nanocomposites were prepared from unsaturated polyester (UPE) mixed with different percentages (10, 20, and 30%) of silica nanoparticles. Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) curves were obtained from the thermal degradation computed by using the Coats-Redfern. The kinetic and thermodynamic parameters were studied for all specimens were presented an excellent linear correlation coefficient close to unity using Minitab 16. Experimental work was showed that the degradation of composites obtained from the thermal gravimetric analysis was slower than the pure UPE. The enhancement of thermal stability was attributed to silica content. Also, the result showed that the decomposition under the oxidative environment for the pure UPE was much faster than the inert environment.