Polyethylene/octa-(ethyl octadeca-10,13 dienoamide) silsesquioxane blends and the adhesion strength to paperboard

Abstract Octa-(ethyl octadeca-10,13 dienoamide) silsesquioxane or bio-POSS was used in the fabrication of polyethylene (PE)/bio-POSS blends by melt mixing. These PE/bio-POSS blends were applied to paperboard by compression moulding coating. The T-peel test was used to determine the adhesion of the blends to paperboard. A FTIR-ATR spectroscopic study was performed to identify the interfacial interaction between PE/bio-POSS blends and paperboard. The T-peel test showed that the adhesion of PE to paperboard was enhanced when there was less than 10 wt% of bio-POSS in the blends. The best adhesions were achieved at 5 wt% and 3 wt% bio-POSS, coated at 200 °C/20 °C and 300 °C/20 °C, respectively. The increase in adhesion strength was attributed to the contribution of mechanical interlocks and probable interfacial interaction between amide groups of bio-POSS and hydroxyl groups of paperboard, as specified by FTIR-ATR. Bio-POSS content above 10 wt% led to a decrease in adhesion between PE/bio-POSS blends and paperboard because the melt flows and mechanical properties of the blends were dramatically decreased.