Mechanical and thermal properties of Montmorillonite filled newspaper fiber reinforced recycled polyethylene terephthalate nanocomposites
The feasibility of developing a newspaper fiber (NPF) reinforced poly (ethylene terephthalate) nanocomposites containing organically modified montmorillonite (MMT) was investigated. The nanocomposites were prepared using a counter-rotating twin-screw extruder followed by injection molding. The mecha...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2012
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/32268/1/SaraMadadiArdekaniMFKK2012.pdf http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/32268/ http://dms.library.utm.my:8080/vital/access/manager/Repository?query=Mechanical+and+thermal+properties+of+Montmorillonite+filled+newspaper+fiber+reinforced+recycled+polyethylene+terephthalate+nanocomposites&queryType=vitalDismax&public=true |
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| Summary: | The feasibility of developing a newspaper fiber (NPF) reinforced poly (ethylene terephthalate) nanocomposites containing organically modified montmorillonite (MMT) was investigated. The nanocomposites were prepared using a counter-rotating twin-screw extruder followed by injection molding. The mechanical properties of the nanocomposites were studied through tensile, flexural and impact testing. The thermal characteristics of the composites were evaluated through thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The morphological behavior of the samples was observed via scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The composites were prepared by using 5 to 15 wt% of NPF as reinforcing elements along with 10 phr of SEBS-g-MA as compatibilizer. The results showed that blending PETr with SEBS-g-MA increased the toughness of the recycled resin and significant improvements in the impact strength of the blend were observed. The incorporation of NPF increased both tensile and flexural moduli of the composites but lowered the impact strength. According to DSC data, the inclusion of NPF increased the degree of crystallinity of the composites, which point to the fact that NPF could act as nucleating agent. The TGA curve revealed that NPF addition lowered the thermal stability of the composites. Micro images taken from the surface of the broken specimen showed poor interfacial adhesion between the fibers and the matrix due to the differences in the hydrophobic\hydrophilic nature of the components. Incorporation of MMT resulted in momentous improvements in both Young’s and flexural moduli of the nanocomposites at the expense of impact strength of the samples. Significant increase observed in the flexural modulus from 2368 MPa to 3484 MPa for composites with 10 wt% of NPF and nanocomposites incorporating 5 phr of nanoclay respectively. The presence of MMT was shown to have influence on the crystallization behavior of the nanocomposites and decreased the onset crystallization temperature as well as melting temperature (Tm). The thermal stability of the nanocomposites showed improvements upon the incorporation of nanoclay. Overall, the properties point to a product with enhanced mechanical properties as compared to PETr with the potential to be used in wood replacement applications. |
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