Abstract
Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) films with different copper contents were prepared from solu-tion. The TGA (thermogravimetric analysis) results show that the presence of copper particles can im-prove the thermal stability of the composite since a maximum increment of 14°C is obtained compared with the pure LDPE in this experiment. The results of DSC (differential scanning calorimetry) in stan-dard conditions show that the Cu content has little influence on the crystallinity,
X
c
, of LDPE. But a trace of DSC under non-standard conditions suggests that the presence of the copper microparticles has a greater effect on the network phase than on the crystalline long-range-order phase. FTIR spectroscopy was used to study the phase content of LDPE in LDPE/Cu non-oriented composite films prepared from solution with different copper contents by analysis of CH
2
rocking vibrations. A spectral simulation of transmission spectra performed using a two-phase model does not show any variation into the phase composition of the LDPE matrix for all copper contents. When a three-phase model was taken into account, the amount of the orthorhombic phase was found to be constant. However, the fraction of the amorphous and that of the network phase were found to increase and decrease respectively with increase in the copper particle load in the film.