Strategies towards Producing Non-Polar Dolomite Nanoparticles as Nanofiller for Copolymer Nanocomposite
Poly (ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (PEVAc) is a copolymer endowed with high elasticity and resilient properties, potentially utilized in various applications. However, the tensile strength of this copolymer is insufficient for use in certain applications that require enough strength to tolerate high e...
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MDPI AG
2022-10-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/20/12620 |
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| author | Asfa Amalia Ahmad Fauzi Azlin Fazlina Osman Eid M. Alosime Ismail Ibrahim Khairul Anwar Abdul Halim Hanafi Ismail |
| author_facet | Asfa Amalia Ahmad Fauzi Azlin Fazlina Osman Eid M. Alosime Ismail Ibrahim Khairul Anwar Abdul Halim Hanafi Ismail |
| author_sort | Asfa Amalia Ahmad Fauzi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Poly (ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (PEVAc) is a copolymer endowed with high elasticity and resilient properties, potentially utilized in various applications. However, the tensile strength of this copolymer is insufficient for use in certain applications that require enough strength to tolerate high external tension or stress. In this study, dolomite was proposed as a nanofiller to reinforce the PEVAc. Raw dolomite was physically and chemically modified in order to improve its mix ability and interfacial adhesion between the PEVAc and dolomite. Initially, the size of dolomite was reduced by combining the ball-milling and tip-sonication methods. SEM, TEM, and XRD were used to characterize the morphology/structure of the raw dolomite and the size-reduced dolomite. Then, a particle size analysis was performed to confirm the average particle size. Our results show that the particle size of dolomite was reduced from 150 µm to 441.4 nm by the physical modification process (size reduction). Based on the TEM analysis, the Feret diameter (d<sub>f</sub>) of the dolomite particles was also reduced from ~112.78 µm to ~139.58 nm only. This physically modified dolomite is referred as dolomite nanoparticles (DNPs), since one or more of its dimensions is less than 100 nm (e.g., thickness and width). To further improve the dolomite and PEVAc matrix interactions, chemical modification of the DNPs were performed by treating the DNPs with stearic acid, forming non-polar dolomite nanoparticles (NP-DNPs). The presence of stearic acid in dolomite was confirmed through FTIR and contact angle analyses. A PEVAc nanocomposite film with NP-NPDs as a nanofiller appeared more homogeneous and exhibited the highest increment in tensile strength and elongation at break. These findings indicated that the combination of ball milling and tip sonication is an efficient method for producing very fine dolomite particles up to the nano-size range, whereas chemical surface modifications improved the compatibility between the dolomite and the copolymer. The combination of these physical and chemical modifications helped to develop a homogeneous copolymer nanocomposite system with improved tensile properties. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:05:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c78740124af54ef88220589890ad1594 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:05:10Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-c78740124af54ef88220589890ad15942023-11-24T00:34:10ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672022-10-0123201262010.3390/ijms232012620Strategies towards Producing Non-Polar Dolomite Nanoparticles as Nanofiller for Copolymer NanocompositeAsfa Amalia Ahmad Fauzi0Azlin Fazlina Osman1Eid M. Alosime2Ismail Ibrahim3Khairul Anwar Abdul Halim4Hanafi Ismail5Faculty of Chemical Engineering & Technology, Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Arau 02600, MalaysiaFaculty of Chemical Engineering & Technology, Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Arau 02600, MalaysiaKing Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), P.O. Box 6086, Riyadh 11442, Saudi ArabiaFaculty of Chemical Engineering & Technology, Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Arau 02600, MalaysiaFaculty of Chemical Engineering & Technology, Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Arau 02600, MalaysiaFaculty of Chemical Engineering & Technology, Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Arau 02600, MalaysiaPoly (ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (PEVAc) is a copolymer endowed with high elasticity and resilient properties, potentially utilized in various applications. However, the tensile strength of this copolymer is insufficient for use in certain applications that require enough strength to tolerate high external tension or stress. In this study, dolomite was proposed as a nanofiller to reinforce the PEVAc. Raw dolomite was physically and chemically modified in order to improve its mix ability and interfacial adhesion between the PEVAc and dolomite. Initially, the size of dolomite was reduced by combining the ball-milling and tip-sonication methods. SEM, TEM, and XRD were used to characterize the morphology/structure of the raw dolomite and the size-reduced dolomite. Then, a particle size analysis was performed to confirm the average particle size. Our results show that the particle size of dolomite was reduced from 150 µm to 441.4 nm by the physical modification process (size reduction). Based on the TEM analysis, the Feret diameter (d<sub>f</sub>) of the dolomite particles was also reduced from ~112.78 µm to ~139.58 nm only. This physically modified dolomite is referred as dolomite nanoparticles (DNPs), since one or more of its dimensions is less than 100 nm (e.g., thickness and width). To further improve the dolomite and PEVAc matrix interactions, chemical modification of the DNPs were performed by treating the DNPs with stearic acid, forming non-polar dolomite nanoparticles (NP-DNPs). The presence of stearic acid in dolomite was confirmed through FTIR and contact angle analyses. A PEVAc nanocomposite film with NP-NPDs as a nanofiller appeared more homogeneous and exhibited the highest increment in tensile strength and elongation at break. These findings indicated that the combination of ball milling and tip sonication is an efficient method for producing very fine dolomite particles up to the nano-size range, whereas chemical surface modifications improved the compatibility between the dolomite and the copolymer. The combination of these physical and chemical modifications helped to develop a homogeneous copolymer nanocomposite system with improved tensile properties.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/20/12620dolomiteparticle size reductionsonicationnanoparticlessurface modification |
| spellingShingle | Asfa Amalia Ahmad Fauzi Azlin Fazlina Osman Eid M. Alosime Ismail Ibrahim Khairul Anwar Abdul Halim Hanafi Ismail Strategies towards Producing Non-Polar Dolomite Nanoparticles as Nanofiller for Copolymer Nanocomposite International Journal of Molecular Sciences dolomite particle size reduction sonication nanoparticles surface modification |
| title | Strategies towards Producing Non-Polar Dolomite Nanoparticles as Nanofiller for Copolymer Nanocomposite |
| title_full | Strategies towards Producing Non-Polar Dolomite Nanoparticles as Nanofiller for Copolymer Nanocomposite |
| title_fullStr | Strategies towards Producing Non-Polar Dolomite Nanoparticles as Nanofiller for Copolymer Nanocomposite |
| title_full_unstemmed | Strategies towards Producing Non-Polar Dolomite Nanoparticles as Nanofiller for Copolymer Nanocomposite |
| title_short | Strategies towards Producing Non-Polar Dolomite Nanoparticles as Nanofiller for Copolymer Nanocomposite |
| title_sort | strategies towards producing non polar dolomite nanoparticles as nanofiller for copolymer nanocomposite |
| topic | dolomite particle size reduction sonication nanoparticles surface modification |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/20/12620 |
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