Nanocomposites of PVC/TiO₂ nanorods: Surface tension and mechanical properties before and after UV exposure

Abstract

In this study, nanocomposites of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), using the synthesized titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) nanorods and commercial nanopowder of titanium dioxide (Degussa P25) were produced by melt blending. The presence of TiO 2 nanorods in PVC matrix led to an improvement in mechanical properties of PVC nanocomposites in comparison with unfilled PVC. The photocatalytic degradation behavior of PVC nanocomposites were investigated by measuring their structural change evaluations, surface tension, and mechanical properties before and after UV exposure for 500 h. It was found that mechanical and physical properties of PVC nanocomposites are not reduced significantly after UV exposure in the presence of TiO 2 nanorods in comparison with the presence of TiO 2 nanoparticles, which can be due to the amorphous structure of the synthesized nanorods. Therefore, it can be concluded that TiO 2 nanorods led to an improvement in photostability and mechanical properties of PVC nanocomposites. The interfacial adhesion between TiO 2 nanorods and PVC matrix was also investigated.

Kinetic study of the poly(vinyl chloride)/titanium dioxide nanocomposites photodegradation under accelerated ultraviolet and visible light exposure

“…The codes and composition of prepared PVC/TiO 2 nanocomposite samples were described in Table . The preparation procedure of the nanocomposites essentially was the same as described in our previous work . The average thickness of the films was measured about 0.71 mm for artificial weathering with the surface area of 12 × 25 mm.…”

Large stabilizing effect of titanium dioxide on photodegradation of PVC/α‐methylstyrene‐acrylonitrile copolymer/impact modifier‐matrix composites

“…Cho and Choi studied the photocatalytic degradation of PVC‐TiO 2 film in ambient air. On the other hand, studies about the screen effect of TiO 2 on inhibiting the photodegradation of PVC have also been reported. Anton‐Prinet et al found that the radiation of wavelength of 390 nm is close to the absorption cut‐off of TiO 2 (rutile type), which is mainly responsible for the improved UV resistance.…”

“…In another study , it is reported that TiO 2 (rutile type) could not only decrease the rate of oxygen uptake, but also decrease the amount of HCl evolved. Sokhandani et al found that addition of TiO 2 nanorods could reinforce PVC and improve its UV resistance simultaneously. Other studies related to the surface modification of TiO 2 , and using TiO 2 (rutile type) in the PVC‐based wood‐plastics composites are also reported .…”

“…Several studies related to the PVC/TiO 2 composites have been reported [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. On the one hand, for accelerating the photodegradation of PVC via adding TiO 2 , Hidaka et al [19,20] investigated photocatalytic degradation of PVC in aqueous TiO 2 suspension or TiO 2 blended film in water.…”

Effects of carbon‐coated titanium dioxide nanoparticles as a photostabilizer on the photodegradation of rigid poly(vinyl chloride)

“…Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) is one of the most important and widely in use thermoplastics because of its valuable properties, such as low production cost, good process ability, easy modification, and excellent chemical and fire resistance . The ultimate user acceptance of PVC products for outdoor building applications will depend on their stability to resist deterioration of their mechanical and aesthetic properties over long periods of exposure that is needed to a careful compounding . Because, the energy content of ultraviolet (UV) region can rupture the most chemical bonds of polymer structure 5 ; therefore, these PVC products are degraded under sun's UV radiation which leads to severe discoloration and loss of mechanical properties of these products .…”