Super ductility in HDPE/EVA blends triggered by synthetic amorphous nanotalc

Abstract

Binary and ternary systems of HDPE/EVA with amorphous nanotalc contents of 1% m/m were prepared by mixing the components in the molten state in a twin-screw extruder followed by injection molding. The thermal properties were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and showed that the thermal stability of the nanocomposites was slightly improved with nanotalc incorporation. The morphology of the nanocomposites, investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), revealed a good dispersion of the nanotalc layers within the polymer matrix, and changes of the morphology from sea-island to co-continuous as a function of the composition, as well as refinement of the size of EVA phase. The dynamic mechanical properties of the samples showed that the storage modulus increased with a diffuse pattern with the addition of the nanotalc, while the tan δ curve showed an intense peak for the 50EVA/NTA nanocomposite at the Tg of EVA. The mechanical properties of nanocomposites were studied by tensile and impact tests. A remarkable behavior was verified for the 50EVA/NTA nanocomposite, which manifested a characteristic of super ductility and high damping capacity, showing that the amorphous nanotalc can be used as a high-performance filler to improve the ductility of polymeric systems.