Biodegradation of Halloysite Nanotubes-Polyester Nanocomposites Exposed to Short Term Seawater Immersion

Saharudin, Mohd, Wei, Jiacheng, Shyha, Islam and Inam, Fawad (2017) Biodegradation of Halloysite Nanotubes-Polyester Nanocomposites Exposed to Short Term Seawater Immersion. Polymers, 9 (8). p. 314. ISSN 2073-4360

[img]
Preview
Text (Full text)
polymers-09-00314.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.

Download (2MB) | Preview
Official URL: http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/9/8/314/htm

Abstract

Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs)-polyester nanocomposites with four different concentrations were produced using solution casting technique and the biodegradation effect of short-term seawater exposure (120 h) was studied. Monolithic polyester was observed to have the highest seawater absorption with 1.37%. At 0.3 wt % HNTs reinforcement, the seawater absorption dropped significantly to the lowest value of 0.77% due to increase of liquid diffusion path. For samples tested in dry conditions, the Tg, storage modulus, tensile properties and flexural properties were improved. The highest improvement of Tg was from 79.3 to 82.4 °C (increase 3.1 °C) in the case of 0.3 wt % HNTs. This can be associated with the exfoliated HNTs particles, which restrict the mobility of polymer chains and thus raised the Tg. After seawater exposure, the Tg, storage modulus, tensile properties and flexural properties of polyester and its nanocomposites were decreased. The Young’s modulus of 0.3 wt % HNTs-polyester dropped 20% while monolithic polyester dropped up to 24% compared to their values in dry condition. Apart from that, 29% flexural modulus reduction was observed, which was 18% higher than monolithic polyester. In contrast, fracture toughness and surface roughness increased due to plasticization effect. The presence of various microbial communities caused gradual biodegradation on the microstructure of the polyester matrix as also evidently shown by SEM images.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: biodegradation; polyester-nanocomposites; halloysite nanotubes; seawater
Subjects: F100 Chemistry
F200 Materials Science
F300 Physics
H300 Mechanical Engineering
J400 Polymers and Textiles
J600 Maritime Technology
Department: Faculties > Engineering and Environment > Mechanical and Construction Engineering
Related URLs:
Depositing User: Fawad Inam
Date Deposited: 31 Jul 2017 10:22
Last Modified: 01 Aug 2021 02:51
URI: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/31427

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics