Transparent thermoplastic composite from a refractive index-adjustable polymer blend

摘要

Transparent glass fiber composites were prepared with a refractive-index-adjustable thermoplastic blend. The opacity of a polymer blend is affected by the phase separation and crystallization properties. Polyamide 6 (PA6)/poly (m-xylene adipamide) (MXD6) blends are intrinsically miscible and transparent in the molten state; further, crystallization is suppressed by polymer chain disordering induced by in-situ transamidation. Thus, the transparency of the molten state was maintained after a sufficient period of melt-mixing. The refractive index was adjusted to that of the glass fiber reinforcement by altering the PA6/MXD6 blend ratio. Injection-molded glass fiber composites of PA6/MXD6 had good transparency and mechanical properties.