Mechanical Properties and Microstructure of the HDPE/Al(OH) 3 /POE Composite

The effect of ethylene-octene copolymer (POE) and maleic anhydride grafted ethylene-octene copolymer (POE-MH) on the mechanical properties, especially the toughness, of highly filled HDPE/Al(OH)₃ composites was studied. POE has hardly any effect on the toughness of the composites, but, POE-MH can improve it remarkably. The microstructure of the ternary phase composites was explored by SEM, DMA, and DSC. An encapsulation structure was obtained when POE-MH was used, and a phase-separated structure was obtained when POE was used.