Surface modification of Mg2B2O5 whisker and its effect on the mechanical properties and thermostability of polycarbonate/Mg2B2O5w composites

The Mg₂B₂O₅ whiskers (Mg₂B₂O₅w) were modified by boric acid ester (BE) coupling agent and used to prepare polycarbonate (PC) composites. Surface wettability test and evaluation of dispersibility of BE-modified Mg₂B₂O₅w (BE-Mg₂B₂O₅w) in n-heptane were carried out by water contact angle measurement and polarizing microscopy, respectively. The surface chemical characteristics of BE-Mg₂B₂O₅w and estimation of the amount of tightly bonded organic modifier were examined by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), respectively. The influence of BE-Mg₂B₂O₅w on the mechanical property, morphology and thermostability of PC composites was investigated by using universal testing machine, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and TGA, respectively. It was found that BE was successfully grafted to the surface of Mg₂B₂O₅w, and the hydrophobic BE-Mg₂B₂O₅w leads to high ratio of adhesion work to interfacial tension between PC and BE-Mg₂B₂O₅w, and its better dispersibility in n-heptane. Furthermore, the incorporation of BE-Mg₂B₂O₅w into PC matrix resulted in higher tensile properties of PC/BE-Mg₂B₂O₅w than that of PC/Mg₂B₂O₅w composites and lower maximum weight loss rate than that of PC. The storage modulus of the PC/Mg₂B₂O₅w composites increased obviously as a function of whisker content, especially for the composites with BE-Mg₂B₂O₅w, but the T_g value changed little.