ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) with a particle size less than 50 nm, were prepared using thesolvothermal method from zinc acetate (Zn(CH3COO)2.2H2O) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in presence of organic solvent (methanol or ethanol). PMMA/ZnO nanocomposite films were prepared by blending ZnO NPs with polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) using solution mixing at concentration range 0-40wt%. The results show that the methanol was more efficient in the synthesis of ZnO NPs than ethanol. The optical bandgap of PMMA/ZnO films has been decreased from 4.4 to 3.7eV by increasing the ZnO NPs content from 0 wt% (neat PMMA) to 40 wt%. The thermal stability glass temperature (Tg), UV-shielding efficiency (reduced transmission) were enhanced by about 60 K, 20 K, 40% with increasing ZnO NPs loading from 0 to 40wt%, respectively. The combination of the thermal and optical enhanced properties gives potential applications in different domains i.e.optics, photonics, and electronics.

Microfibrillar and droplet morphology of polypropylene (PP) phase dispersed in polypropylene (PS) was fabricated by using melt-extrusion. This morphology was obtained by introducing isotactic PP (20 wt.%) with different viscosity in the PS matrix (80 wt.%). Furthermore, the rheological properties of the blend investigated as a function of the viscosity ratio K. The variations in blend morphology were related to crystallization, melting properties, and viscoelasticity. The blends with K >> 1 develop a fine morphology with PP microfibrils along the flow direction, while diameters of the dispersed PP droplets gradually increase with lower values of K = 1, or K << 1. Crystallinity of the prepared blends significantly decreases compared to neat PP, while the microfibrillar morphology induces homogeneous crystallization with small crystallites. This is reflected in a decrease of the crystallization temperature, small loss in the crystallinity, and lower melting temperature of the PS80/PP20 blend compared to neat PP. The storage moduli, loss moduli, and complex viscosity are highest for the microfibrillar morphology that presents retarded relaxation. The rheological properties are dominated by the dispersed phase (K > 1), or matrix (K < 1). The variation in blend properties with microfibrillar morphology can be clearly distinguished from heterogeneous blends containing PP droplets, providing an efficient tool to create a binary blend with unique properties.

Rapid urbanization proportionally increases the waste products which force humankind to find a suitable waste management system. This study aims at identifying the possibility of using toner waste powder (TWP) as a filler for fabricating polymer composites for enhanced electrical conductivity of polymer blends. TWP was successfully incorporated into a polymer blend of low-density polyethylene/high impact polystyrene (LDPE/HIPS) at a high loading percentage of up to 20 wt %. Elemental analysis (SEM-EDS and XRF) showed that the main constituents of TWP are carbon and iron with traces of other metals such as Ca, Cs, Ti, Mn, Si. The electrical conductivity of LDPE/HIPS is significantly enhanced by loading the TWP into the polymer blend. The addition of TWP to LDPE/HIPS blend decreases the electrical resistivity of the LDPE/HIPS/TWP composite to ~2.9 × 107 Ohm.cm at 10 wt % of TWP, which is several orders of magnitude lower than that of the neat blend with maintaining the thermal stability of the polymer composite. The prepared polymer composite is lightweight and shows electrical conductivity, thus it can have potential applications in electronic materials and automotive industries.

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