Thermal stability of CaCO3/polyethylene (PE) nanocomposites

Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) nanoparticles in polymer matrix cause to improvement in polymer performance, including thermal stability and mechanical properties. The main goal of this article is to investigate the effect of different weight percentage of nanoparticles of CaCO3 on thermal stability and mechanical properties of polyethylene (PE) nanocomposites. The morphological structure of CaCO3 nanoparticles and nanocomposites was investigated by transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The thermal stability of PE and its nanocomposites was also determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and thermomechanical analysis. Nonisothermal crystallization experiments by DSC test showed that the incorporation of nanoparticles increased the crystallinity, glass transition temperature, and the effective energy barrier for crystallization process. Besides, degradation behavior was evaluated by TGA. The onset mass loss temperature shifted to higher value in the presence of nanoparticles.