Mechanical studie of chitosan filled recycled low density polyethylene biocomposites

Abstract

The chitosan filled recycled low density polyethylene (rLDPE) biocomposites were prepared by Z-blade mixer at the temperature 180 °C. The effects of chitosan loading on mechanical properties of the rLDPE/chitosan biocomposites were analyzed. Furthermore, chitosan was used as the filler in this project. The influences of different chitosan loading on the mechanical performance of rLDPE/chitosan were investigated. The increasing of chitosan loading had increased the tensile strength of the biocomposites. Ultra plast TP01 was chosen as coupling agent. Effect of coupling agent on rLDPE/chitosan also determined. The biocomposites with ultra plast TP01 exhibited greater tensile strength compared to the composites without coupling agent. As a result, the addition of Ultra Plast TP01 was found to improve the interfacial interaction and adhesion between the chitosan and rLDPE. The SEM micrograph shows the better interfacial interaction between chitosan and rLDPE. Addition of TP01 enhance the compatibility between hydrophilic filler and hydrophobic matrix due to the behaviour of TP01. The percentage of water absorption increases during period of immersion day. The presence of TP01 gave several different of peak that obtained in FTIR analysis for both rLDPE/chitosan biocomposites with and without TP01.