Interfacial interactions and performance of polyamide 6/modified attapulgite clay nanocomposites

Abstract Attapulgite (AT) clay was firstly treated with sodium polyacrylate (PAS), then polyamide 6 (PA6)/AT nanocomposites were prepared by simple melt compounding. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT‐IR) of treated AT confirm the success of purifying and surface modification of the original AT by PAS. X‐ray diffraction spectra for the nanocomposites show that the microstructure of AT in PA6 matrix is almost unchanged. It indicates that a strong interfacial adhesion exists between AT and PA6 matrix through analyzing fracture surfaces of the nanocomposites, the variation of glass transition temperature (T_g) obtained by dynamic mechanical analysis, and interfacial interaction factors; field emission scanning electron microscopy on the fracture surfaces of the nanocomposites shows that a uniform dispersion of AT is obtained. The above two aspects conform to the improvement of mechanical and thermal properties of the nanocomposites. POLYM. COMPOS., 2009. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers