The use of ground & ultrasonicated dolomite (GUD) for improving the tensile performance of Poly (ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) copolymer composite

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Abstract
The combination of the organic and inorganic materials to fabricate a new form of material called ‘composite’ has been performed since several decades ago. However, the strategy to improve the homogeneity of the resultant composite system is still being the main focus of current research. In this study, dolomite and poly (ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (PEVAc) were employed as filler and matrix, respectively. Dolomite was ground and ultrasonicated before being used as filler. It can be observed that the size of dolomite particles has been reduced significantly upon the grinding and ultrasonication processes. The effect of ground and ultrasonicated dolomite (GUD) addition on the mechanical performance of the PEVAc copolymer was investigated. Results indicate that the GUD filler has successfully increased the tensile strength, elongation at break, modulus of elasticity and tensile toughness of the PEVAc copolymer when being employed in 1 wt%. However, the use of higher content of GUD resulted in the decreasing trend of those properties. This shows that the ground and ultrasonicated dolomite with smaller and higher surface area particles than its pristine form could bring improvement to the mechanical performance of the copolymer when being used in low loading as it can be more easily dispersed in the copolymer matrix.

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