Tailoring fineness and content of nylon-6 nanofibers for reinforcing optically transparent poly(methyl methacrylate) composites

Nanofibers offer great potential for improving the mechanical performance of optically transparent composites without compromising transparency. To achieve this, the reinforcing nanofibers must be thinner than the low end of the visible light spectrum (400 nm). Herein, a self-mixing co-electrospinning approach was employed to prepare electrospun meshes of well-blended nylon-6 (PA-6) nanofibers and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) fibers, from which composite films containing PA-6 nanofibers with varied diameters (approximately 100-800 nm) and mass fractions (1-7 wt%) were fabricated by hot-press molding. When the PA-6 nanofiber content was less than 5 wt%, the mechanical properties of the PA-6/PMMA composite remarkably improved compared to those of neat PMMA, without considerably influencing its transparency. Furthermore, the thermal stability of the PA-6/PMMA composite was clearly improved compared to that of neat PMMA. These results suggest that this material has the potential for wider adoption in applications requiring both transparency and high mechanical properties.