Studies on structure–property relationship of polyamide-6/attapulgite nanocomposites

Polyamide-6/attapulgite nanocomposites were prepared and characterized by thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, thermomechanical analysis and tensile test. From the results it can be concluded that the exhibited properties of the nanocomposites came from the intrinsic structure of the nanocomposites. The experimental results showed that the incorporation of the attapulgite silicates caused the polymer network to exhibit reinforcement in thermal and mechanical properties and slower relaxation in segments mobility compared with neat polyamides. The confinement effect was evidenced by the thermo mechanical data from dynamical mechanical analysis and thermal mechanical analysis. The nanocomposites showed dynamic modulus reinforcement, suppression of thermal expansion effect, and enhanced tensile property with increasing attapulgite loading, resulting from direct grafting of the polymer chains to the exfoliated dispersed silica fibers and the restriction on molecular mobility of polymeric segments near the silicate surface.