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Morphology and melt rheology of nylon 11/clay nanocomposites
Author(s) -
He Xiaofeng,
Yang Jun,
Zhu Lianchao,
Wang Biao,
Sun Guangping,
Lv Pengfei,
Phang In Yee,
Liu Tianxi
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.24281
Subject(s) - materials science , nanocomposite , composite material , rheology , extrusion , transmission electron microscopy , viscoelasticity , dynamic modulus , dynamic mechanical analysis , modulus , morphology (biology) , polymer , nanotechnology , geology , paleontology
Abstract Nylon 11 (PA11)/clay nanocomposites have been prepared by melt‐blending, followed by melt‐extrusion through a capillary. Transmission electron microscopy shows that the exfoliated clay morphology is dominant for low nanofiller content, while the intercalated one is prevailing for high filler loading. Melt rheological properties of PA11 nanocomposites have been studied in both linear and nonlinear viscoelastic response regions. In the linear regime, the nanocomposites exhibit much higher storage modulus ( G ′) and loss modulus ( G ″) values than neat PA11. The values of G ′ and G ″ increase steadily with clay loading at low concentrations, while the G ′ and G ″ for the sample with 5 wt % clay show an inverse dependence and lie between the modulus values of the samples with 1 and 2 wt % of clay. This is attributed to the alignment/orientation of nanoclay platelets in the intercalated nanocomposite induced by capillary extrusion. In the nonlinear regime, the nanocomposites show increased shear viscosities when compared with the neat resin. The dependence of the shear viscosity on clay loading has analogous trend to that of G ′ and G ″. Finally, a comparison has been made between the complex and steady viscosities to verify the applicability of the empirical Cox‐Merz rule. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 542–549, 2006