Morphological and mechanical properties of natural zeolite-high density polyethylene composite

This study focused on the morphology and mechanical properties of novel implant skull reconstruction from the natural zeolite-high density polyethylene (HDPE). The composites were formed through injection molding techniques. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to investigate the morphology of composites. The composite morphology showed the present of aggregate. An increase in the content of the particles resulted in lower the inter-particle distance. Ductility and yield stress decreased with increasing content of zeolite. On the other hand, Young's modulus increased in line with the increasing zeolite content. Tensile stress increased with addition of zeolite content of 5 wt.% and decreased in further additions. This indicated that the highest adhesion strength of the interface occurs at a concentration of 5 wt.% zeolite. Therefore, the mechanism of stress transfer from the matrix to the filler occurs effectively.