Mechanical and thermal behaviour of polyamide 6/silicon carbide nanocomposites toughened with maleated styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene elastomer

摘要

Polyamide 6 (PA6) based nanocomposites reinforced with 1-7 wt% silicon carbide nanoparticles (SiC_p) and toughened with 20 wt% maleated styrene-ethylene-butylenestryrene (SEBS-g-MA) were fabricated by melt blending followed by injection moulding. The effects of SiC_p addition on thermal and mechanical properties of such nanocomposites were investigated. Differential scanning calorimetry tests showed that SiC_p act as effective nucleators for the crystallization of PA6 and enhance the degree of crystallinity. Mechanical measurements revealed that SiC_p addition improves the Young's modulus and yield strength of PA6/SEBS-g-MA 80/20 blend at the expenses of tensile ductility and impact strength. The essential work of fracture (EWF) approach under tensile mode was employed to characterize the fracture toughness of PA6/SEBS-g-MA/SiC_p nanocomposites. EWF results indicated that SiC_p addition reduces both the specific EWF and specific non-essential plastic work of fracture. Thus SiC_p additions were detrimental to the fracture toughness of PA6/SEBS-g-MA 80/20 blends.