Investigation on the mechanical performances of ternary nylon 6/SEBS elastomer/nano‐SiO₂ hybrid composites with controlled morphology

Abstract

ABSTRACT:The distribution of maleated styrene-hydrogenated butadiene-styrene (mSEBS) elastomer and nanoSiO 2 in nylon 6 matrix was controlled by varying the blending procedure. Nano-SiO 2 particles with different surface properties (hydrophilic versus hydrophobic) were adopted to adjust their interactions with other components. Two different structures, separate dispersion of nano-SiO 2 and elastomer particles as well as encapsulation of nano-SiO 2 fillers by the elastomer, were obtained. The structures were confirmed through scanning electron microscope (SEM) investigation. The mechanical measurement results showed that the microstructure and the interactions among the components had dramatic influences on the final mechanical properties, especially Izod fracture toughness, for the ternary nanocomposites. The nanocomposites containing hydrophilic nano-SiO 2 had better mechanical performances compared with the composites filled with hydrophobic SiO 2 when they were in the same microstructure. The nanocomposites with separate dispersion structure showed higher stiffness compared with those of encapsulation type. However, the separately dispersed nano-SiO 2 particles restricted the cavitation of elastomer phases that led to low toughening effectiveness. The difference of cavitation intensity for elastomer phase was revealed by SEM investigation on the facture surfaces for the nanocomposites with the two different microstructures.

The Role of Interfacial Interactions on the Functional Properties of Ethylene–Propylene Copolymer Containing SiO2 Nanoparticles

“…On one hand, the presence of nanostructures with a high surface area even at a low concentration results in enhancement of the interphase contact between solid surface and elastomer, and thus has a strong impact on the reinforcing effect. On the other hand, not only in this study but also in the literature, an increase in the mechanical properties has been observed with the addition of SiO 2 nanoparticles [ 36 ]. Additionally, it should be noted that even though the tensile strength of the nanocomposites increased even at higher content of nanofillers (5 wt.%), the values of the elongation at break decreased.…”

Flowability and Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Nylon 6/Ethylene bis-Stearamide/Carboxylic Silica Composites

“…As shown in Table 3, the PA 6 composites had a slightly lower degree of crystallinity compared with the pure PA 6. Zhang et al [40] also showed that X c of PA 6 decreased slightly when the PA 6 was filled with Styrene-Ethylene-Butylene-Styrene (SEBS) elastomer and colloidal silica with a particle size of about 10-20 nm. One possible explanation of the lower crystallinity in the composites is the inability of polymer chains to be fully incorporated into growing crystalline lamellae.…”

Grafting of amphiphilic polymers containing quaternary ammonium group on SiO2 surface via surface-initiated ATRP

“…Among the numerous reported examples of inorganic/organic hybrid nanoparticles, silica/polymer hybrid nanoparticles have been extensively studied [18][19][20][21]. Despite the increasing studies on silica/polymer hybrid nanoparticles, they all have the specific applications owing to the hydrophobic property of the polymers deposited on the silica surface, such as polystyrene [22,23], poly (methyl methacrylate) [24][25][26], and so on.…”