Jolanta Tomaszewska

Preparation and Characterization of Eco-Friendly Mg(OH)2/Lignin Hybrid Material and Its Use as a Functional Filler for Poly(Vinyl Chloride)

A functional magnesium hydroxide/lignin hybrid system was prepared by grinding and mixing the pure precursors using a planetary ball mill. In addition, the thermal stability was assessed based on the total mass loss of the hybrid system within the temperature range of 30–1000 °C, which amounted to 38%. Moreover, the average particle size was at 4.9 μm as determined by the laser diffraction method. The effect of addition of the prepared and characterized Mg(OH)2/lignin hybrid filler at concentrations ranging from 2.5 wt % to 10 wt % on the processing as well as mechanical and thermal properties of composites on the matrix of the unplasticized PVC compound was also evaluated. The addition of a filler to the poly(vinyl chloride) matrix causes a significant improvement of its thermal stability, which is approximately three times higher compared to a polymer without a filler. Furthermore, the prepared composites are additionally characterized by advantageous mechanical properties, especially higher Young’s modulus. A 10% increase in the oxygen index of PVC composites upon addition of 10 wt % hybrid fillers has also been observed, which contributes to an extended range of their application under conditions that require notable fire resistance.

Tri-component Recycled PVC/PE-HD Material Composite with Keratin Fibres

Presented in the article are some mechanical and processing properties of composites prepared from two recycled immiscible polymers: poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) and high density polyethylene (PE-HD), and keratin fibres used as a filler. The simplex-centroid design technique was adopted to fix the make-up of the composites. Results of the investigations are presented in the form of triangular graphs which illustrate the content percentage of singular components in the composite. It was found that the blend of PVC and PE-HD is suitable as a matrix in polymeric composites to hold keratin fibres as the filler. On the grounds of results obtained, the opportunity is presented to adopt a composition of the composite that responds to a complex of desired properties (within assumed limits of the singular components).