Investigation of mechanical and thermal properties of zinc oxide additive polyethylene

Zinc oxide is an inorganic compound having the formula of ZnO. It is present in nature as a zincite mineral (natural zinc oxide). ZnO has some antimicrobial mechanisms; Hydrogen peroxide produced from the ZnO surface can pass through the cell membrane, create a kind of injury and prevent the growth of cells. In order to make the polymers to be antimicrobial, metal particle and organic compound addition processes are used. Due to the fact that ZnO is a well-known antibacterial, many studies have been carried out on the antimicrobiality of the composite material formed by incorporating into nanoparticle size thermoplastic polymers (polyethylene and polyamide). Nanocomposite is a multicomponent material in which at least one of the components is less than 100 nanometers (nm), or nanoscale structures are defined as the material repeating distances between the different components forming the material. Polymer nanocomposites consist of a polymer or copolymer containing nanoparticle dispersed in the polymer matrix. In this study, F5-21T which is a low density polyethylene type with middle molecular weight distribution was used in PETKİM low density factory. Tensile strength values of the samples are between 7,83-8,37 Mpa, Tensile strength values at break are between 61,78-96,15 Mpa, Elongation at break is between 88,9-218 MPa. In terms of thermal analysis, no change was observed in the melting and crystallization enthalpies of DSC in respect of pure polyethylene (melting enthalpy values 49,40-43,082 J / g and crystallization enthalpy values 63,134-53,938 J / g). The decay temperatures of our nanocomposite samples were 420-500 ℃. As a conclusion, in this study, the effects of different weight ZnO on low density polyethylene nanocomposites were investigated. Melt flow rates on these nanocomposites mixtures were investigated by mechanical tests (tensile strength at break, tensile strength at break, elongation at break), thermal analysis (DSC and TG).