Improving the properties of poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate)/clay composite by using electron beam irradiation

Effect of electron beam irradiation on the thermal and mechanical properties of poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (EVA)/clay composites prepared by blending using solvent method has been investigated. The results show that the tensile strength increased continuously with increasing electron beam (EB) irradiation dose up to 200 kGy, thereafter decreased with further increase in dose, similarly increased with increasing the clay percentage until 50%, then decreases with further increase in clay percentage. Alternatively, elongation at break decreased continuously with increasing irradiation dose and clay percentage in the prepared composite. Conversely hardness increased continuously with increasing both clay percentage and irradiation doses. The thermogravimetric analysis revealed that thermal stability of the EVA/clay composites improved with increasing dose. The improvement in the mechanical and thermal properties is attributed to the formation of radiation-induced crosslinking as evidenced by the gel-content results. The adsorption capacity of EVA/clay composite for acid red 37 dye was 63.6 (mg/g) at adsorption conditions of: EVA/clay 50:50 (wt.%); dye concentration: 300 mg/l; sample dose: 0.05 g/25.00 ml; initial pH 7.0; temperature: 30 °C and equilibrium time: 8 h.