This work aims to investigate the effect of hybrid filler concentration on the thermal stability of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) matrices. LDPE-based composite films were synthesized by melt mixing, followed by compression molding, to study the influence of titanium oxide nanoparticles (TONPs) and/or multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the thermal properties of LDPE matrices. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy confirmed the slight increase in the band intensities after TONP addition and a remarkable surge after the incorporation of CNTs. The value of crystallization temperature (Tc) was not modified after incorporating TONPs, while an enhancement was observed after adding the hybrid fillers. The melting temperature (Tm) was not changed after introducing the CNTs and CNT/TONP hybrid fillers. The percentage crystallinity (Xc %) was increased by 4% and 6%, after incorporating 1 wt % and 3 wt % CNTs, respectively. The TONP incorporation did not modify the Xc %. Moreover, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) thermograms confirmed the increased thermal stability after introducing CNTs and hybrid fillers compared to TONP incorporation.
Keywords: CNTs; LDPE; TONPs; morphological properties; polymer composites; thermal properties.