Coconut shell char-based nanocomposites of polyamide-6: An investigation of thermal, morphological, and crystalline properties

Abstract

This research was intended to investigate the thermal, morphological, and crystalline characteristics of polyamide-6@carbon char-based nanocomposites. The mesoporous nanosized carbon char was prepared in the laboratory via the carbonization method. The parameters of the coconut shell-based biocarbon char were confirmed by surface area and particle size analysis, and X-ray diffraction analysis. The coagulation-processed nanocomposites of polyamide-6 were prepared using synthesized mesoporous carbon char as filler. The obtained filler with a Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area of 1517 m2/g and an average pore volume of 2.51 nm was mixed with the polyamide at five different loadings. The coagulation technique was employed for the nanocomposite synthesis. The acquired coagulated nanocomposite was investigated using Fourier transform infrared analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetric technique, and scanning electron microscopy analysis. It was evidenced from the research that loading coconut shell-based carbon char to polyamide-6 can contribute to a 10 °C rise in final degradation temperature with a 4 % loading of filler. The same filler content has contributed to a 5 °C decline in glass transition temperature. A continuous decrease in crystallinity with a rise in the concentration of biochar is indicative of the incorporation of amorphous character. So, it was determined that the thermal, morphological, and crystalline properties have been modified by synthesizing the coagulation-processed nanocomposites with mesoporous biochar of coconut shells.