Structural, conductivity, mechanical and wettability properties of copper alumina reinforced chlorinated polyethylene/polyvinyl chloride blend nanocomposites

Copper alumina (Cu-Al2O3) has the greatest capacity to impart mechanical characteristics, crystallinity, thermal properties, conductivity and dielectric constant to a polymer matrix. This article presents the results of chlorinated polyethylene (CPE)/poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) blend nanocomposites with different contents of nano-Cu-Al2O3. The presence of Cu-Al2O3 in the macromolecular chains of CPE/PVC blend was verified by FTIR spectra. SEM analysis showed the presence of hemispherical particles with nanometric sizes, and the XRD diffractograms revealed the crystalline peaks of Cu-Al2O3 in the blend nanocomposites. DSC studies revealed that the glass transition temperature of the blend shifted toward a higher value by the incorporation of Cu-Al2O3. An investigation of the electrical properties of blend nanocomposites demonstrates the enhancement in conductivity and dielectric nature with the addition of nanofillers. The effect of nanoparticles on different mechanical properties was also investigated. The modulus, tensile strength, hardness and impact properties of the blend nanocomposites were greatly enhanced, whereas the elongation at break decreased with the addition of nanofillers. Different tensile models were correlated with the experimental tensile values to study the mechanism of the reinforcement in blend matrix. Contact angle measurements of blend nanocomposites revealed that the addition of Cu-Al2O3 increased the hydrophobicity of the blend.