Effect of nanosepiolite and nanosilica content, polyethylene-grafted-maleic anhydride and irganox 1010 on tensile and morphological of low density polyethylene nanocomposites

Nanocomposites of thermoplastic blend of low density polyethylene (LDPE) filled with nanosepiolite and nanosilica was investigated. All of the test samples were prepared using Brabender Internal Mixer Plastograph EC Plus (Duisberg, Germany) at 160°C, speed of 50 rpm and moulded using compression at temperature of I60°C. Results showed that the nanosepiolite filled composites gave better tensile properties than nanosilica filled composites at same filler loading. The adhesion between filler and matrix was improved by using MAPE as a compatibilizer at 3 phr content. All the properties were improved for both nanocomposites. The addition of antioxidant into the nanocomposites showed that the lowest content of antioxidant at 1 phr gave higher tensile strength and Young's modulus compared to 3 phr and 5 phr. The effect of thermal ageing was also investigated by exposing the nanocomposites in air circulated oven at 70°C for 72 hours. The nanocomposites were found to show better properties than the control nanocomposites when antioxidant were added to the nanocomposite system and supported by S ~ M morphology and FTIR analysis.