TITLE:
Thermal Degradation Kinetics of iPP/Pd Nanocomposite Prepared by a Drying Process
AUTHORS:
Y Jae-Young Lee, Hong-Ki Lee, Sung-Wan Hong, Il-Yub Choi
KEYWORDS:
Pd Nanoparticles; Polymer Nanocomposite; Isotactic Polypropylene; Thermal Degradation; Flynn & Wall Equation
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Materials Physics and Chemistry,
Vol.2 No.4B,
January
16,
2013
ABSTRACT: Palladium (Pd) nanoparticles were incorporated into isotactic polypropylene (iPP) film by a one-step dry process. iPP film was exposed to the sublimed Pd(acac)2 vapor in a glass vessel at 180oC. The Pd nanoparticles were observed by transmission electron microscope (TEM), and it was found that metallic nanoparticles were selectively loaded on the amorphous regions between the lamellae in iPP. Thermal degradation kinetics was investigated by introducing the data of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) to Flynn & Wall equation. TGA data showed that thermal degradation temperature (Td) of the neat iPP was improved about 35oC by loading 0.27 wt% Pd nanoparticles. Thermal degradation activation energy (Ed) for iPP/Pd nanocomposite was 227.85 kJ/mol while that of neat iPP was 220.57 kJ/mol. These results meant that the Pd nanoparticles acted as a retardant in the thermal degradation of neat iPP polymer chain.