The Effect of Triacetin on the Plasticization Efficiency and Tensile Properties of Polyvinyl Chloride/di-2-Ethyl Hexyl Phthalate/Triacetin Compounds
The use of triacetin as an alternative plasticizer to polyvinyl chloride (PVC) was studied in term of plasticizer efficiency and tensile properties before and after ageing. The efficiency of plasticizers was evaluated based on the glass transition temperature (Tg) and the hardness value of the compounds. The Tg and hardness of all PVC/DEHP/Triacetin compounds are lower than PVC/50DEHP and PVC/50Triacetin compounds indicating synergistic plasticisation effect between both DEHP and Triacetin within the PVC compounds. The low molecular weight and chemical structure of triacetin are believed to contribute to the highest tensile strength, elongation at break and modulus of the PVC/triacetin compared with PVC/DEHP and PVC/DEHP/triacetin compounds. However, the migration ability of the triacetin plasticizer is believed to result in the biggest changes of the tensile properties of PVC compounds plasticized with triacetin before and after ageing.