A study of structure and tensile properties of polyamide 12/clay nanocomposites

The nanocomposites are multiphase materials where at least one phase is in nanoscale, less than 100 nm, whereby a higher specific interfacial area is achieved. Due to their characteristic properties, the nanocomposites are nowadays being increasingly used for the engineering applications, and certainly will have a significant role in the materials production in the future. An important class of nanocomposite materials are polymer layered silicates, in which the layered filler (mostly modified natural clay minerals) is dispersed in the polymer matrix. Many of parameters (i.e., type of polymer matrix, type and amount of nanofiller, and a number of process parameters as melting temperature, screw speed, number and shape of mixing screws, etc) affect properties of nanocomposites. As part of the paper, the samples of PA12/nanoclay nanocomposite mixture were made by adjusting various parameters (content of nanoclay, the screw rotation frequency and mixture temperature). Afterward, the tensile properties of obtained specimens were analysed. The mathematical models that show dependence of tensile properties on the mixture parameters were obtained as the result of analysis. POLYM. COMPOS., 37:684–691, 2016. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers