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Effects of coupling agents on the natural aging behavior and oxidation profile of high‐density polyethylene/sericite composites
Author(s) -
Yang Rui,
Yu Jian,
Liu Ying,
Wang Kunhua
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.26971
Subject(s) - high density polyethylene , materials science , composite material , sericite , polyethylene , scanning electron microscope , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , absorbance , chemical engineering , chemistry , quartz , engineering , chromatography
The natural photooxidation of high‐density polyethylene (HDPE)/sericite composites was carried out outdoors for 180 days. The oxidative products, oxidation profile, and section morphology were characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, infrared microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The results showed that HDPE/sericite had a higher oxidation degree than HDPE. All the coupling agents (CAs) accelerated the oxidation reaction of HDPE and made the final carbonyl index higher than that of an untreated one. The effect of sericite might have been due to the increased ultraviolet absorbance, whereas the effects of CAs might have been due to the active functional groups. Furthermore, cracks in the sections of test bars of HDPE/sericite composites after natural exposure were also observed. Their average lengths and densities were different for various CA treatments. This difference had a direct correspondence with the oxidation profile along the depth. This demonstrated that significant oxidation and consequently chain scission in the surface layer were responsible for the formation of cracks. Comparing the natural aging behavior of the films with test bars, we obtained more information about the propagation of the photooxidation. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008