An investigation on non-isothermal crystallizationbehavior and morphology of polyamide 6/ poly(ethyleneco-1-butene)-graft-maleic anhydride/organoclaynanocomposites

Nanocomposites based on polyamide 6 (PA6) and poly(ethylene-co-1-butene)-graft-maleic anhydride (EB- MAH) blends have been prepared via melt mixing. The effect of blend ratio and organoclay concentration on gthe crystallization and melting behavior of specimens were studied. Three types of commercial organo-modifedclay (Cloisite 30B, Cloisite 15A and Cloisite 20A) were employed to assess the importance of the nanoclay polarityand gallery distance. The crystallization behavior was investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)and wide angle X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (WAXD). The strong interactions between amine end groups of PA6and maleic anhydride groups of EB-g-MAH led to complete inhibition of EB-g-MAH crystallization according tothe DSC results. A transformation from the α form to the γ form crystals of PA6, induced by both organoclays andEB-g-MAH, was monitored by WAXD and DSC. Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) was used to evaluate themorphology of nanocomposites. Moreover, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was conducted to determinethe location of organoclays and indicated that the organoclays mainly present in the PA6 matrix and rarely distributein the EB-g-MAH phase in the case of low polarity organoclays. It was also evidenced that the organoclay with themost affnity to PA6 (Cloisite 30B) had the largest effect on the thermal and crystallization behavior of this phasein the blend. Polyolefns J (2015) 2: 99-108

Keywords:

polyamide 6 , polyolefn elastomer , organoclay , crystallization , morphology