Study of the effect of the dispersion of functionalized nanoparticles TiO2 with photocatalytic activity in LDPE

A photodegradable Low Density Polyethylene-Titanium dioxide (LDPE-TiO2) nanocomposite film was prepared, and its evaluation considers the partial modification of the surface of the particle using Hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (HDTS) as functionalizing agent under Ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Reaction efficiency of the nanoparticles was evaluated with Thermogravimetric (TGA) and infrared analysis (FT-IR). Nanocomposites were prepared by a melt blending technique; using a twin-screw extruder, each nanocomposite film was thermoformed into different shapes for further evaluation. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was utilized to determine the size and distribution of nanoparticles in the polymer. Experimental results indicate that surface modification increases the degree of dispersion while decreasing the particle size, enhancing the particle's compatibility with the polymer matrix. Photocatalytic degradation was assessed through accelerated degradation weathering in a chamber under UV radiation to assess the performance of photocatalytic degradation. These tests indicated, that the particle's homogeneity of dispersion and size reduction by functionalization allows for homogeneously degraded surfaces (SEM) to generated a greater abundance of oxidized groups in the sample compared with unfunctionalized sample.