Structure, morphology and properties of a novel molecular composite by in-situ blending of anionic polyamide 6 with a polyamide copolymer containing rigid segments

Molten caprolactarn, in which a polyamide copolymer (HPN) containing rigid segments was dissolved, was polymerized by means of anionic ROP to in produce polyamide (PA, nylon) 6 blends with HPN in situ. A novel molecular composite was achieved in which toughness and strength were simultaneously improved, as well as modulus, compared to virgin PA6. In view of the interchange reaction between PA6 and PA1212 (and PA66) in blends fabricated in the same way, it was deduced that a similar reaction between PAIS and HPN took place during the blending and led to copolymerization between the two components. The formation of copolymers was verified by their single glass transition and single melting peak, measured through DMA and DSC, respectively. DSC analysis also showed that the occurrence of the interchange reaction inhibited the crystallization and suppressed the melting point of PA6. Analysis by FT-IR spectroscopy indicated that the difference in the distance between the amide groups for PA6 and HPN induced a decrease in the amount and strength of hydrogen bonding. Moreover, characterization by POM and XRD revealed that the spherulite size of the PA6 crystals decreased dramatically and the amount of gamma crystal increased slightly with the majority of crystallites being alpha crystals. Furthermore, it was found through the observation of the morphology by SEM that no phase separation existed in the composites. On the basis of detailed analysis and a comparison between the in situ PA6/PA66 and PA6/ HPN blends, it is believed that the combination of markedly decreasing spherulite size and similar segmental mobility resulted in the simultaneous improvement of mechanical properties for the in situ PA6/HPN blends.