Enhancement in the Electrical and Thermal Properties of Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) Co-Polymer by Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles

Jose Sebastian¹, Eby T. Thachil¹, Jobin Job Mathen², Joseph Madhavan², Prince Thomas³, Jacob Philip⁴, M. S. Jayalakshmy⁴, Shahrom Mahmud⁵, Ginson P. Joseph^3*

¹Department of Polymer Science and Rubber Technology, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kerala, India.
²Department of Physics, Loyola College, Chennai, India.
³Department of Physics, St. Thomas College, Palai, India.
⁴Department of Instrumentation, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kerala, India.
⁵School of Physics, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Minden, Malaysia.

DOI: 10.4236/ojcm.2015.53011                

Abstract

EVA/ZnO nanocomposites of 1%, 2% and 4% ZnO were fabricated by direct probe sonicator method. The ZnO nanopowders were prepared by solvothermal method. As the particle size of the filler incorporated to the polymer matrix decreases, the properties of the polymer-filler interface show dominance over its bulk properties. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss of the composites at ambient temperatures are found to decrease with increasing frequency. The thermal analysis using TGA-DTA is also performed and it is found that the thermal stability of the nanocomposites increases with increasing the filler concentrations. The thermal parameters such as thermal diffusivity (α) and thermal effusivity (e), the thermal conductivity (k) and heat capacity (Cp) were studied using photopyroelectric technique. The band gap of the samples was also determined and found to decrease with increasing filler concentrations. The tensile strength and peel strength of the samples were also investigated and it is found to increase with small inclusion of filler material.

Keywords

Composite Materials, Polymers, Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA), Dielectric Properties

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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