Increasing mechanical resilience and enhanced electrical conductivity through the incorporation of CNF reinforcing additives in PA6 nanocomposites

In pursuit of strong, tough, and functional advanced composite materials, a series of polymer nanocomposite blends were prepared from the engineering thermoplastic polyamide 6 (PA6) and increasing admixtures of carbon nanofibers (CNF) up to 8 wt%. The combination of high sheer mixing and solvent pro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Structural chemistry 2019-02, Vol.30 (1), p.341-349
Main Authors: Buchanan, J. Paige, Reed-Gore, Erin R., Jefcoat, Jennifer A., Moser, Robert D., Klaus, Kyle L., Peel, Hannah R., Buchanan, Randy K., Barnes, Eftihia, Alberts, Erik M., Shukla, Manoj K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Additives
Admixtures
Carbon fibers
Chemistry
Chemistry and Materials Science
Composite materials
Computer Applications in Chemistry
Crystallites
Dispersion
Electrical resistivity
Elongation
Mechanical properties
Modulus of elasticity
Nanocomposites
Nanofibers
Original Research
Physical Chemistry
Polyamide resins
Polymer blends
Polymer matrix composites
Theoretical and Computational Chemistry
Thermal stability
Thermodynamic properties
Thickness
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Summary:In pursuit of strong, tough, and functional advanced composite materials, a series of polymer nanocomposite blends were prepared from the engineering thermoplastic polyamide 6 (PA6) and increasing admixtures of carbon nanofibers (CNF) up to 8 wt%. The combination of high sheer mixing and solvent processing techniques employed produced free-standing films of 40–60-μm thickness, which were characterized for mechanical performance, dispersion, thermal behavior, and electrical conductivity. The combination of XRD, FTIR, Raman, and SEM analysis supported a dominant α-phase PA6 and good dispersion of the CNF. CNF:PA6 composite films yield an impressive ~ 500% elongation at break for 2 wt% CNF, with more modest increases in tensile strength and elastic modulus over the unmodified PA6. DSC analysis suggests strong interfacial forces between additive and polymer, with a nucleating effect on the formation of crystallites. Increasing CNF loading leads to enhanced thermal stability, and a significant increase in electrical conductivity was observed at low loadings of CNF. These materials show great promise for use in advanced composites applications.
ISSN:1040-0400
1572-9001
DOI:10.1007/s11224-018-1236-8