Equations of state for polyamide‐6 and its nanocomposites. 1. Fundamentals and the matrix

The pressure‐volume‐temperature ( PVT ) surface of polyamide‐6 (PA‐6) was determined in the range of temperature T = 300–600 K and pressure P = 0.1–190 MPa. The data were analyzed separately for the molten and the noncrystalline phase using the Simha‐Somcynsky (S‐S) equation of state (eos) based on the cell‐hole theory. At T g ( P ) ≤ T ≤ T m ( P ), the “solid” state comprises liquid phase with crystals dispersed in it. The PVT behavior of the latter phase was described using Midha‐Nanda‐Simha‐Jain (MNSJ) eos based on the cell theory. The data fitting to these two theories yielded two sets of the Lennard‐Jones interaction parameters: ε*(S‐S) = 34.0 ± 0.3 and ε*(MNSJ) = 22.8 ± 0.3 kJ/mol, whereas v *(S‐S) = 32.00 ± 0.1 and v *(MNSJ) = 27.9 ± 0.2 mL/mol. The raw PVT data were numerically differentiated to obtain the thermal expansion and compressibility coefficients, α and κ, respectively. At constant P , κ followed the same dependence on both sides of the melting zone near T m . By contrast, α = α( T ) dependencies were dramatically different for the solid and molten phase; at T < T m , α linearly increased with increasing T , then within the melting zone, its value step‐wise decreased, to slowly increase at higher temperatures. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 47: 299–313, 2009