Development of a novel composite based on polyethylene and low melting point metal alloy

This work presents the novel composite material based on a polymer (LDPE) and metal alloy, which have a close melting point. The process of blending the main components of the composite was developed using the extrusion mixing. The process of extrusion of composite films with a thickness 50-300 μm was worked out using an extruder equipped with a cast film die. This process allowed production of the binary composite, with up to 15 wt.% of the alloy dispersed uniformly in the polymer matrix. It was shown that carbon black is highly compatible with the basic components and could be dispersed uniformly in the obtained films. The structure of the composite films was studied with a scanning electron microscope. Physical properties of the binary and ternary composites were investigated, including conductivity and temperature dependence of the thermal capacity. Non-ohmic behavior of the ternary composites was revealed. The IR spectra of the composites were studied using an FTIR spectrophotometer. It was shown that processing polyethylene in the presence of a low-melting-point alloy causes changes in the structure of polyethylene. The presence of alloy caused intensive oxidation of carbon black in the ternary composite as well.