Thermal stability and rheological properties of PMMA/B₂O₃ nanocomposites synthesised by melting method

ABSTRACT

Nano boron oxide (B₂O₃) was firstly produced from granular B₂O₃ by ball milling under cryogenic conditions. Then, PMMA/B₂O₃ nanocomposites were synthesized by melting method and then characterized. Finally, the rheological properties of PMMA/B₂O₃ nanocomposite were investigated using a high pressure capillary rheometer. Brauner-Emmet-Teller (BET) surface area analysis showed that the surface area of B₂O₃ increased with cryogenic grinding. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images revealed that B₂O₃ particles were nano-sized. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed that the morphology changed with the increase of B₂O₃ amount. The thermal stability of nanocomposites was found to be better than PMMA. PMMA degraded in two steps, while nanocomposites degraded in one step. It was determined that the amount of residue increased with increasing amount of B₂O₃. Both PMMA and nanocomposites exhibited non-Newtonian shear thinning flow behavior. In addition, rheological data were found to be highly compatible with the Power Law model.

KEYWORDS:

• Nanocomposite
• thermal stability
• rheological properties

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by BOREN 2009.Ç0231