Optical properties of CaCO3-filled poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) films

Optical properties, such as transmittance and diffuse reflectance in the ra nge of 200-800 nm, of hot-pressed films of poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) filled with up to 10 wt% of calcium carbonate were analyzed. A linear relat ionship between optical properties and film thickness was found for these c omposites. Tn the range of compositions analyzed, transmittance of films de creases with an increasing in the filler content following an exponential l aw. The amount of decreasing can also be related to the average statistics particle diameter for a constant weight fraction of added filler by a squar e root law. Diffuse reflectance of the films was very low in the visible zo ne and increases considerably in the UV zone. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V . All rights reserved.