Effect of Compatibilizer on the Persistent Luminescence of Polypropylene/Strontium Aluminate Composites

oleh: Anesh Manjaly Poulose, Hamid Shaikh, Arfat Anis, Abdullah Alhamidi, Nadavala Siva Kumar, Ahmed Yagoub Elnour, Saeed M. Al-Zahrani

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2022-04-01

Deskripsi

There is a demand for long afterglow composites due to their potential applications in nighttime signal boards, sensors, and biomedical areas. In this study, Polypropylene (PP)/strontium aluminate-based composites [SrAl<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub>:Eu<sup>2+</sup>/Dy<sup>3+</sup> (SAO<sub>1</sub>) and Sr<sub>4</sub>Al<sub>14</sub>O<sub>25</sub>: Eu<sup>+2</sup>, Dy<sup>+3</sup> (SAO<sub>2</sub>)] with maleic anhydride grafted PP compatibilizer (PRIEX) were prepared, and their auto-glowing properties were examined. After UV excitation at 320 nm, the PP/5PRIEX/SAO<sub>1</sub> composites showed green emission at 520 nm, and blue emission was observed for PP/5PRIEX/SAO<sub>2</sub> around 495 nm. The intensity of phosphorescence emission and phosphorescence decay was found to be proportional to the filler content (SAO<sub>1</sub> and SAO<sub>2</sub>). The FTIR analysis excluded the copolymerization reaction between the SAO<sub>1</sub> and SAO<sub>2</sub> fillers and the PP matrix during the high-temperature melt mixing process. The SAO<sub>1</sub> and SAO<sub>2</sub> fillers decreased the overall crystallinity of the composites without affecting the T<sub>m</sub> and T<sub>c</sub> (melting and crystallization temperature) values. The thermal stability of the composites was slightly improved with the SAO<sub>1</sub> and SAO<sub>2</sub> fillers, as seen from the TGA curve. Due to the plasticizing effect of the compatibilizer and the agglomeration of the SAO<sub>1</sub> and SAO<sub>2</sub> fillers, the tensile modulus, tensile strength, and storage modulus of the composites was found to be decreased with an increase in the SAO<sub>1</sub> and SAO<sub>2</sub> content. The decreasing effect was more pronounced, especially with the bulk-sized SAO<sub>2</sub> filler.