Fabrication of Nylon 6-Montmorillonite Clay Nanocomposites with Enhanced Structural and Mechanical Properties by Solution Compounding

Melt compounding has been favored by researchers for producing nylon 6/montmorillonite clay nanocomposites. It was reported that high compatibility between the clay and the nylon6 matrix is essential for producing exfoliated and well-dispersed clay particles within the nylon6 matrix. Though solution compounding represents an alternative preparation method, reported research for its use for the preparation of nylon 6/montmorillonite clay is limited. In the present work, solution compounding was used to prepare nylon6/montmorillonite clays and was found to produce exfoliated nylon 6/montmorillonite nanocomposites, for both organically modified clays with known compatibility with nylon 6 (Cloisite 30B) and clays with low/no compatibility with nylon 6 (Cloisite 15A and Na(+)-MMT), though to a lower extent. Additionally, solution compounding was found to produce the more stable α crystal structure for both blank nylon6 and nylon6/montmorillonite clays. The process was found to enhance the matrix crystallinity of blank nylon6 samples from 36 to 58%. The resulting composites were found to possess comparable mechanical properties to similar composites produced by melt blending.