Thermal and tensile properties of alumina filled PET nanocomposites

• Main Authors: Nikam, Pravin N., Deshpande, Vineeta D.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0094-243X; 1551-7616
• DOI: 10.1063/1.5032905

In the present investigation, nanocomposites of poly(ethylene terephathalate)(PET) with different content (0 to 5 wt.%) of alumina nanoparticles (n-Al2O3) were prepared by melt-extrusion technique. Morphological characterization of samples was examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Morphological analysis revealed that degree of dispersion of alumina nanoparticles (ANPs) was increased at lower content (i.e. upto 2 wt.%), which observed by TEM. Thermal and tensile measurements were carried out using and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and universal testing machine (UTM). The thermal analysis showed that the glass transition termperature (Tg), melting temperature (Tm), crystallization temperature (Tc) of PET/alumina nanocomposites (PNCs) were higher than neat PET (PET0). The heat enthalpy (ΔHm) of crystallization for PNCs was increased compared to PET0, which indicates that degree of crystallinity of PNCs also increased compared to PET0. The half-time (t0.5) of crystallization of PNCs were decreased compared to PET0 which indicates that the incorporation of ANPs nucleate the PET molecular chains and allowing the easily crystallization during nonisothermal process. The tensile analysis revealed that the tensile elastic modulus (i.e. Young’s modulus) of PNCs increased almost linearly with increasing the content of ANPs while tensile elongation at break decreased nonlinearly. The tensile strength of PNCs increased with a 1 wt.% of ANPs whereas the higher content of ANPs decreased the tensile strength.