Application of thermal gravimetric analysis and comparison of polyethylene films before and after exposure in various chemical solutions

Abstract

In this paper, there are published experimental results of research in the field of polymers. The thermal analysis conveys information about changes in material effected by the melting of the material. The investigated material is low-density polyethylene (LD – PE). The LD – PE films were exposed to aggressive media with different values of potencia hydrogeni (pH). The experiment aims to apply thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), one of the methods of thermal analysis. TGA monitors the weight of polyethylene films as a function of temperature. Original LD – PE film and the effect of media is evaluated based on TGA and evaluation of the surface morphology (macrostructure) after exposure. The largest weight loss is noticed in the original film without the influence of media. At 200 °C, the wax products are released from the material. During thermal analysis is observed a weight loss of up to 1 mg in the investigated film samples. LD – PE film after the effect of Coca-Cola has the highest decrease in mass and the most changed its macrostructure. LD – PE film after effect of Saponate has the lowest decrease in mass and its macrostructure is almost the same as the original LD – PE film after production technology.