AbstractNanocomposites based on polyamide 6 (PA6) and montmorillonite-type (MMT) commercial clays, either unmodified or organically modified, were prepared by in-situ polymerization of ε-caprolactam (CL). The above materials were characterized in detail by a number of experimental techniques, including transmission electron microscopy (TEM), wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The formation of nanostructured systems was checked not only for the commonly used ω-aminoacid-modified clay, but also for other types of organoclays. In general, a correlation was found between nanoscopic swelling of the clay in molten CL, measured by X-ray diffraction, and level of clay dispersion in PA6. Specifically, with the most swellable clays, completely exfoliated nanocomposites were obtained. However, also layered silicates modified by compatibilizers having carboxy groups, because of the active role of latter in CL polymerization, formed delaminated nanocomposites despite their low degree of swelling in CL monomer. Both molecular mass and crystallinity of the polyamide matrix were found to be strongly influenced by the presence of specific layered silicates. In particular, some characterization techniques (WAXD, FTIR) have evidenced a close relationship between the MMT used and PA6 crystal structure. Namely, PA6 γ-form is promoted by clay with compatibilizer bearing the carboxy group, which is able to induce the polymer to be tethered on the silicate layers, thus provoking conditions of restricted mobility to occur.
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