Mechanical, Dielectric and Thermal Decomposition properties of Ethylene co-vinyl acetate Polymer Composites with Modified Chitosan Filler

Abstract The mechanical and dielectric properties of melt mixed EVA composites with polyaniline modified chitosan as fillers were investigated. A dependence on the filler concentration was observed for the mechanical properties such as tensile strength and Young’s modulus. The composite with higher concentration of filler showed 16.57 MPa and 25.26 MPa respectively. However, the presence of EVA matrix decreased the dielectric properties of the developed composites. In order to better understand the thermal decomposition and further analyse the recycling of the developed composites, kinetic parameters and thermodynamic properties of EVA/chitosan-g-PANi composites were determined. This was carried out on the basis of non-isothermal thermogravimetric experiments conducted at four different heating rates under N2 atmosphere. The Ea values obtained was strong function of conversion rates which ranged from 138–267 kJ/mol and 150–280 kJ/mol for KAS and Friedman methods respectively. Moreover, enthalpy, entropy and Gibbs energy changes were computed and these results would help design a process for the recycling of synthetic polymers.