The Influence of Fe2O3 Nanoparticles on the Thermal Degradation and Kinetics of PMMA

Fe2O3-reinforced PMMA nanocomposites were prepared by melt blending using a twin-screw micro-extruder. Fixed Fe2O3 loading of 2.5 wt.% was employed, and mixing times of 6 and 12 min were used to obtain nanocomposites with different dispersion characteristics. The structural and morphological properties of the samples were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), while their thermal degradation behavior was evaluated by differential thermal and thermogravimetric analyses (DTA/TG). The activation energies of thermal degradation were calculated using the Kissinger, Takhor, and Augis–Bennett methods. Increasing the mixing time improved nanoparticle dispersion and reduced agglomeration. The addition of Fe2O3 slightly decreased the characteristic degradation temperatures of PMMA, while the activation energy increased for the better-dispersed sample. The results indicate that interfacial interactions and particle dispersion play important roles in the thermal degradation behavior of PMMA/Fe2O3 nanocomposites.