Efficient melt stabilization of polyethylene with quercetin, a flavonoid type natural antioxidant

Abstract

The potential use of quercetin, a flavonoid type natural antioxidant, as a stabilizer in polyethylene was explored in this work. Its efficiency was compared to that of Irganox 1010, a hindered phenolic antioxidant used routinely in industrial practice, both in the presence and the absence of a phosphorous secondary stabilizer. The study was carried out with a Phillips type polyethylene and the efficiency of the additive packages was checked by various methods on samples produced by multiple extrusions. Quercetin content changed from 0 to 1000 ppm in 10 steps. The results showed that quercetin is a very efficient antioxidant. It prevents the formation of long chain branches already at a concentration as small as 50 ppm and its dosage at 250 ppm renders the polymer sufficient long term residual stability. The efficiency of quercetin is considerably better than that of Irganox 1010, the hindered phenolic antioxidant used as reference stabilizer. The difference in efficiency might be explained with the dissimilar number of active -OH groups on the two molecules, but the stabilization mechanism of quercetin may be also different from that of I1010. Quercetin interacts with the phosphonite secondary stabilizer used, which improves dispersion and increases efficiency. Besides its advantages, quercetin has also some drawbacks (very high melting temperature, poor solubility in polyethylene and strong yellow color), which must be overcome before the substance can be used in practice.

Thermo-oxidative resistant nanocomposites containing novel hybrid-nanoparticles based on natural polyphenol and carbon nanotubes

“…More precisely, the induction time almost triples upon simply addition of free quercetin. This is essentially in line with what reported in the literature [37,38]. In particular, T atraaljai et al ascribed the stabilizing action of quercetin to the presence of a large number of active eOH groups, whose are able to scavenge both carbon and oxygen centered radicals present in polyethylene during degradation.…”

“…Quercetin is known to have low solubility in polyethylene [37]. Immobilizing it onto CNTs and using the latter as nano-carriers could maximize the contact of the Q molecules with the host matrix, allowing for a better exploitation of their inherent anti-oxidant features.…”

Natural antioxidants as stabilizers for polymers

“…The solubility of the compounds in polyethylene was estimated from changes in the color of the polymer as a function of antioxidant content. In a series of recent studies, Phillips type polyethylene samples containing various amounts of the antioxidants listed in Table 3 and PEPQ secondary stabilizer were produced by multiple extrusions [114][115][116][117]. Their efficiency as processing stabilizer was determined and it was shown to depend on their chemical structure, dispersion and interaction with the secondary antioxidant.…”

“…Optical micrograph recorded on a polyethylene film of 100 µm thickness containing 1000 ppm quercetin [115].…”

Adsorption of an active molecule on the surface of halloysite for controlled release application: Interaction, orientation, consequences

“…Quercetin is a natural flavonoid with proven antioxidant, antiviral and anti-inflammatory effect which also proved to be a very efficient stabilizer in PE [25]. However, besides its advantages, the compound has several drawbacks as well.…”