Polyamide 66 Binary and Ternary Nanocomposites: Mechanical and Morphological Properties

Polyamide 66 (PA 66)/impact modifier blends and polyamide/organoclay binary and PA 66/organoclay/impact modifier ternary nanocomposites were prepared by the melt-compounding method, and the effects of the mixing sequences on the morphology and mechanical and flow properties were investigated. Lotader AX8840 and Lotader AX8900 were used as impact modifiers. The concentrations of the impact modifiers and the organoclay (Cloisite 25A) were maintained at 2 and 5 wt %, respectively. Both the binary and ternary nanocomposites displayed high tensile strength and Young's modulus values compared to the PA 66/impact modifier blends. Decreases occurred in the strength and stiffness of the binary nanocomposites upon incorporation of the elastomeric materials into the polymeric matrix. In general, the mixing sequence in which all three ingredients were added simultaneously and extruded twice (the All-S mixing sequence) exhibited the most enhanced mechanical properties in comparison with the mixing sequences in which two of the components were extruded in the first extrusion step and the third ingredient was added in the second extrusion step. The mechanical test results were in accordance with the organoclay dispersion. The impact strength was highly affected by the elastomeric domain sizes, interdomain distances, interfacial interactions, and organoclay delamination. The smallest elastomeric domain size was obtained for the All-S mixing sequence, whereas the elastomeric domain sizes of the other mixing sequences were quite close to each other. Drastic variations were not observed between the melt viscosities of the ternary nanocomposites prepared with different mixing sequences. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 118: 209-217, 2010