Effect of Montmorillonite Clay on Physical Properties of HDPE/ HGS Composites

Recently, there has been an increasing interest in enhancing the physical properties of polymer nanocomposites.In the present study, the effect of montmorillonite (MMT) clay ratio (0, 1, 5, 10 and 15 wt.%) on the physical properties of the high-density polyethylene (HDPE)/ hollow glass spheres (HGS) composites were investigated.The hollow glass spheres ratio is 20% by weight.After the mixture obtained from the extruder was granulated, test specimens were produced using an injection molding machine.Physical tests were applied such as melt flow index (MFI), moisture content (MC), Vicat softening point (VSP), heat deflection temperature (HDT), Limit oxygen index (LOI).The nanoclay dispersion was examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD).Images of HDPE/HGS/MMT-clay composites were taken with Scanning electron microscopy (SEM).The results obtained show that heat deflection temperature, Vicat softening point, and melt flow index decreased gradually as the MMT-clay content increased.The LOI decreased with increase in the MMT-clay content from 0 to 15wt.%.MC increased with increase in the MMT-clay content from 0 to 1 wt.%.MC didn't change with further increasing of MMT-nanoclay content to 10 percent by weight.Then, MC increased with increase in the MMT-clay content from 10 to 15 wt.%.