Preparation, characterization and permeability evaluation of poly(vinylidene fluoride) composites with ZnO particles for flexible pipelines
Bianca Pedroso Silva Santos, Jose Jonathan Rubio Arias, Fábio Elias Jorge, Raphael Értola Pereira de Deus Santos, Beatriz da Silva Fernandes, Ludmila da Silva Candido, Augusto Cesar de Carvalho Peres, Érica Gervasoni Chaves, Maria de Fátima Vieira Marques
Abstract
Zinc oxide particles in needle shape were synthesized by hydrothermal route varying the reactor rotation speed (600, 1200, and 1800 rpm). The synthesized particles and commercial nanosized ZnO were characterized through X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), aiming to evaluate the influence of the synthesis variable on their thermal, morphological and chemical properties. In this study, the performance of composites comprising poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) matrix and ZnO synthesized particles, and commercial nanoparticles were compared. The composites were analyzed by XRD, TGA, FTIR, SEM, dynamic-mechanical analysis (DMA), and permeability to CO2. The results revealed that the particles synthesized even in micrometric diameter reduced the permeability much more than the commercial ZnO nanoparticles, therefore being more suitable for the application as inner pressure sheath in flexible ducts. Moreover, the ZnO needle-like particles with a lower dimension induced the PVDF β-phase to over 30%.