Prediction and optimization of the mechanical properties of polyamide6/polyolefin elastomer nanocomposites reinforced with multi-walled carbon nanotubes by using a full factorial experiment

In this research, the mechanical properties of polyamide 6/polyolefin elastomer (PA6/POE) blends reinforced with carbon nanotubes have been studied. Nanocomposites consisted of 10 and 20 wt% polyolefin elastomer, 0, 1, 2, and 3 wt% carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and 5 and 10 wt% maleic anhydride (POE-gMA as coupling agent) were made by an internal mixer based on the full factorial design of experiment. Tensile and impact tests were performed to extract mechanical properties including tensile strength, elastic modulus, and impact strength. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to observe the dispersion and distribution quality of MWCNT in the matrix. SEM images showed an acceptable distribution of carbon nanotubes up to 2 wt% in both polyamide matrices with 10 and 20 wt%, while adding 3 wt% of nanotubes in both matrices was associated with nanotubes accumulation. The test results showed that the addition of 2 wt% of carbon nanotubes improved the tensile strength and elastic modulus of the compounds by 21% and 23%, respectively. Also, the presence of up to 20 wt% of polyolefin and 10 wt% of the compatibilizer has increased the impact strength of the compounds. Finally, the R-squared above 92% for all mechanical properties showed that there is a good agreement between the experimental results and the extracted regression models.