MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF HIGH-DENSITY POLYETHYLENE (HDPE) WITH TiO2 NANOPARTICLE FILLER PEG 6000

Abstract

 

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) is a semiconductor material that has great stability so that it can be utilized as a filler material for High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) thermoplastics. This study was conducted to determine the effect of TiO₂ PEG 6000 nanoparticle filler composition on the mechanical properties of HDPE thermoplastics. TiO₂ was synthesized with sol gel method and then mixed with PEG 6000. Nanocomposites are made by mixing HDPE with TiO₂ nano filler in a rheomixer tool with variations in filler composition (2, 4, 6, 8, 10) %wt, then molded using injection molding tools with ASTM 638 type V standards and analyzing mechanical properties using UTM (Universal Testing Machine) test equipment which includes tensile strength, elongation at break and elastic modulus. The results of XRD analysis produced a particle size of 22nm and SEM tests showed that the surface of TiO₂ nanoparticles had a smooth and even surface. The sample with 8% wt filler composition variation is the sample with the best tensile strength value of 84.72 MPa, the highest elongation at break value in the sample with 4% filler of 35.5% and the highest elastic modulus in the sample with 8%wt filler composition of 729.33 MPa.Keywords: Titanium dioxide, HDPE thermoplastic, PEG 6000, Tensile test.