Some properties of polyethylene compounds with surface‐modified fillers

The dispersion of variously surface‐treated CaCo3 fillers in linear low density polyethylene has been studied, along with mechanical properties of the filled compounds. Microwave plasma discharges were used to modify the filler surfaces. Inverse gas chromatographic analyses showed that plasma treatments could change the dispersive and non‐dispersive components of filler surface characteristics. A reduction in these surface energies facilitated the dispersion of the filler in the non‐polar polyethylene. Mechanical properties, particularly those at high deformation of the filled plastic, also responded to filler surface treatments, the ductility at failure increasing with a decrease in the filler's surface polarity. For any given elongation at failure, it was found that the amount of filler accommodated by the host polymer was raised by the appropriate surface modification procedure. The work illustrates the important contribution made by interfacial phenomena to various performance aspects of complex polymer systems.