Effect of Cloisite® 30B on the Diffusion of Irganox 1076 in HDPE

The diffusion of a thermal stabilizer, Irganox 1076, is studied both in pure high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and HDPE matrix filled with 1 wt% of Cloisite (R) 30B. The diffusion experiments are carried out by using the Roe method formed by a stack of several polymer films of 120 +/- 01 mu m in thickness. In this study, a simple method is used to measure the diffusion coefficient, with the aid of Fourier Transform InfraRed spectroscopy without any extraction or refining steps in the analysis. The diffusion coefficient (D-p) of both materials are obtained in the temperature range 80-100 degrees C using the second Fick's law. By applying the Arrhenius equation to the calculated D-p coefficients, an estimation of activation energies of the diffusion process is also achieved. The results indicate that the diffusion coefficient of Irganox 1076 in HDPE has been decreased by adding 1% of Cloisite (R) 30B. Copyright (C) 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.