Stiffening of poly(ethylene terephthalate) by means of polyamide 6 nanocomposite fibers produced during processing

Polymer nanocomposites based on poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) with up to 40% polyamide 6 (PA6) reinforced with up to 7% of a fully dispersed organoclay were obtained in the melt state presenting a highly fibrillar morphology of the dispersed phase. The organoclay was located in the dispersed PA6 phase, as was expected given the nature of the chemical modification of the organoclay and the mixing procedure selected. Fibrillation was possible thanks to the presence of some PA6 in the PET-rich phase which assured compatibility and allowed the development of these high surface/volume ratio structures. The increases obtained in the elasticity modulus were higher than any previously observed in PET matrix Ncs. This indicated that the location of the organoclay in the dispersed fibrillated phase was more effective in terms of stiffening than a location in the matrix.