A commercial production route to prepare polymer‐based nanocomposites by unmodified multilayer graphene

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn this study, we report our progress toward an effective method to prepare polyamide 6 (PA6)/multilayer graphene (MLG) nanocomposites via in situ polymerization. The thermal and mechanical properties of PA6 nanocomposites were investigated with low unmodified MLG content of 0.01–0.5 wt %. The dispersion of MLG sheets in the host matrix was studied in extensive detail while the properties of the resultant nanocomposites were systematically measured. Results indicate that the mechanical properties of the nanocomposites were significantly enhanced; the flexural modulus, flexural strength and impact strength increased by ∼97%, ∼69%, and ∼76% relative to pristine PA6. Furthermore, the thermal stability of nanocomposites was enhanced and the weight loss temperature of PA6 was increased ∼15°C at 0.5 wt % content of MLG. Moreover, incorporation of low loading of MLG can increase the crystallization speed of PA6 composites and promote the formation of the γ‐crystalline phase while also improving the crystallization temperature. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 42742.