High density polyethylene and silane treated silicon nitride nanocomposites using high-density polyethylene functionalized with maleate ester: Mechanical, tribological and thermal properties

•HDPE has been blended with different weight percentages of silane modified SN.•The mechanical, wear and thermal properties of the composites were measured.•Mechanical results have showed that incorporation of SN has improved the properties.•A significant improvement in wear properties have been achieved with 30% SN loading.•TGA study revealed that the HDPE/SN composites were thermally stable than neat HDPE.

In this study, attempt has been made to improve the overall performance of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) composites by blending with silane treated silicon nitride (SN) using HDPE grafted dibutyl maleate as compatibilizer. A small quantity of surface modified nanoclay has also been added in order to improve the mechanical properties. The mechanical properties show that both silane modification of silicon nitride accompanied by nanoclay addition has led to the substantial enhancement in mechanical properties. In addition, compatibilization has further improved the mechanical properties showing 10% (w/w of silicon nitride) as optimal compatibilizer content. The wear results showed that, as SN content increased, the slide wear loss decreased. Addition of SN along with compatibilizer also improved the thermal stability of the nanocomposites.