Influence of the Chemical Nature and Structural Characteristics of Nanofillers on the Mechanism of Polyethylene Pyrolysis

The influence of different types of nanofillers on the mechanism of polyethylene thermal degradation is studied. The composition of the products of pyrolysis of composite material was evaluated using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). It has been found that incorporating carbon nanofillers (carbon nanotubes, graphite nanoplates, and reduced graphite oxide) into polyethylene leads to increase in the fraction of heavy hydrocarbons of the pyrolysis products. The varying influence of carbon fillers on the pyrolysis process is explained in terms of the surface defectiveness of the fillers and their specific effect on the segmental mobility of the polyethylene macroradicals within the framework of the previously proposed theory. The use of montmorillonite-layered silicate as a filler leads to a qualitative change in the composition of pyrolysis products, which is caused by the presence of catalytic acid sites and the ionic character of the polyethylene thermal degradation mechanism.