Abstract

HERMAN, Vanessa; KARAM, Arquimedes; ALBANO, Carmen  and  GONZALEZ, Gema. High density polyethylene - hydroxyapatite composites synthetized by in situ ethylene polymerization. Rev. Fac. Ing. UCV [online]. 2015, vol.30, n.1, pp.211-218. ISSN 0798-4065.

A novel synthesis method of obtaining polyethylene - hydroxyapatite (HDPE-HA) composites is proposed using in situ ethylene polymerization, employing Cp₂ZrCl₂/MAO as catalytic system. In this work, the influence of different polymerization conditions on the HA dispersion was evaluated. The parameters studied were: stirring velocity (600-2000 rpm) and temperature (10-75°C). It was found that, combining high stirring velocities (2000 rpm) and low temperatures (10 °C), it was possible to reach good filler dispersion with the HA nanocrystals interconnected in a network without the presence of agglomerates. Thermal degradation of HDPE-HA composites involved chemical degradation reaction of first order, accompanied by formation of the gas phase inside the melt polymer.

Keywords : Synthesis; polyethylene; Composites; Hydroxiapatite; Thermal degradation.

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