Influence of CaCO3 micro- and nano-particles on the structure and properties of Nylon-66

Polyamide-66 (PA66)/CaCO3 micro- and nano-composites were successfully prepared by polymer solution method. The material was characterized by XRD, SEM, FTIR, UV-VIS, DSC, Viscometry technique and UTM. The XRD results of composites have suggested that the a-crystalline form is thermodynamically more stable and has a higher modulus than the gamma-crystalline forms. Uniform dispersion of particles in polymer was shown through SEM. The results showed that incorporation of CaCO3 particles increased the modulus and tensile strength of neat PA66 however decreased its elongation at yield and break. Nanosized CaCO3 was superior to micro-sized CaCO3 in that it caused higher modulus and strength.