Morphology, crystallization and dynamic mechanical properties of PA66/nano-SiO2 composites

This article addresses the effect of nano-SiO2 on the morphology, crystallization and dynamic mechanical properties of polyamide 66. The influence of nano-SiO2 on the tensile fracture morphology of the nanocomposites was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which suggested that the nanocomposites revealed an extensive plastic stretch of the matrix polymer. The crystallization behaviour of polyamide 66 and its nanocomposites were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). DSC nonisothermal curves showed an increase in the crystallization temperature along with increasing degree of crystallinity. Dynamic mechanical properties (DMA) indicated significant improvement in the storage modulus and loss modulus compared with neat polyamide 66. The tan a peak signifying the glass-transition temperature of nanocomposites shifted to higher temperature.