Affiliation:
1. Department of Chemical Engineering University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Main Campus Lahore Pakistan
2. Department of Chemical Engineering Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS) Quetta Pakistan
3. Department of Chemical, Polymer and Composite Materials Engineering University of Engineering and Technology (UET Lahore), New Campus Kala Shah Kaku Pakistan
4. Department of Chemical Engineering Nawaz Sharif University of Engineering and Technology (MNSUET) Multan Pakistan
5. Interdispciplinary Research Center for Refining and Advanced Chemicals King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals Dhahran Saudi Arabia
6. Department of Chemical Engineering Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS Bandar Seri Iskandar Malaysia
Abstract
AbstractThis study examines the impact of zinc oxide (ZnO) on the spectral, thermal, mechanical, and morphological characteristics of developed composites of high‐density polyethylene (HDPE). Composite samples were fabricated with different compositions of ZnO (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 wt%) along with a constant quantity of hydroxyapatite (HA, 10 wt%) in pure HDPE. The synthesized hybrid polymer composites were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), universal testing machine (UTM), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) methods, allowing for a thorough assessment of their spectral, thermal, mechanical, and morphological properties, repectively. FTIR analysis revealed the presence of HA and ZnO metal vibrations in the hybrid polymer samples. The thermal stability was increased by the incorporation of different amounts of ZnO, and the decomposition temperature was increased from 319.31 to 412°C for 10 wt% of ZnO hybrid composites as compared to pure HDPE. DSC findings indicated that increasing the ZnO contents, prompted the degree of crystallinity to rise to 14.81% as contrasted to neat HDPE. It was observed that yield strength and ultimate tensile strength for the 10 wt% ZnO composite increased up to 51.85% and 31.72%, respectively, compared to pure HDPE. However, at higher loading of ZnO, surface cracks were observed, which is detrimental for composite materials. Hence, the improved attributes indicated that the synthesized ZnO/HA/HDPE polymer composites can be a promising material for biomedical engineering applications.