Characterization and morphological development of polypropylene/polyamide 6 blends using polyamide 6 powder and single-walled carbon nanotube. (July 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kang, DongHo; Hwang, Sung Wook; Jung, Bich Nam; Shim, Jin Kie
• Is Part Of: Journal of composite materials. Volume 53:Number 16(2019)
• Page Start: 2197
• Page End: 2207
• Publication Date: 2019-07
• Subjects: Polymer–matrix composites -- microstructures -- thermal conductivity -- single-walled carbon nanotube; Composite materials -- Periodicals; Composites -- Périodiques; 620.118
• DOI: 10.1177/0021998318823895
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0021-9983

Abstract

In this study, polyamide 6 and polypropylene (50/50 weight ratio) blend with 2 wt.% of single-walled carbon nanotubes was prepared by melt processing. Cryo-milling process was employed to produce the micro-sized powder form of polyamide 6. In order to evaluate the influence of polyamide 6 powder (PNPS2) on the morphology of blend, granule form of polyamide 6 (NPS2) was employed for comparison. Improvement of thermal conductivity (about 31% increase) was observed via development of fiber-like morphology of PNPS2, compared to NPS2 (co-continuous morphology). Due to small and coarse shape of polyamide 6 powder, it may hinder the coalescence of the polyamide 6 phase, resulting in the reduction of polyamide 6 nodules size, contributing to the development of fiber-like morphology. No statistical difference was found in the mechanical property of PNPS2 and NPS2. With a 60.43% of phase continuity of polyamide 6 phase in PNPS2, fiber-like morphology contributed to the increase of effective single-walled carbon nanotubes volume concentration with more filler-to-filler connection, resulting in the improvement in thermal conductivity.