Effect of compatibilizer and polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane on mechanical, thermal, and morphological properties of polyamide6/poly (ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) composites

Abstract

The mechanical properties and morphology of polyamide 6/maleic anhydride grafted ethylene-co-vinyl acetate (PA6/EVA-g-MA) ternary composites are considered a function of compatibilizer (EVA-g-MA) amount at a mixing combination of 20 wt% dispersed phase (combination of EVA and the compatibilizer). 1–7 wt% compatibilizer are added to PA6/EVA-g-MA, whereas the PA6 doping is kept constant at 80 wt% in the ternary composites. Furthermore, 0.5, 1, 3, and 5 wt% octa-Isobutyl POSS (OIP) is used for reinforcement. The thermal, mechanical, and morphological properties of PA6/EVA-g-MA composites have been studied through DSC, TGA, DMTA, traditional mechanical measurements, and SEM. Tensile strength and Young’s modulus declined by increasing the compatibilizer concentration. The impact strength of PA6/compatibilizer improved considerably up to 3 wt% of the compatibilizer and then decreased. TGA analysis demonstrated a considerable improvement in the thermal stabilities of the nanocomposites by raising the OIP amount. The results of DMTA, including Tg, and DSC analysis demonstrated that the inclusion of OIP in PA6/compatibilizer considerably changed the thermal properties of only PA6 in PA6/compatibilizer. Incorporating OIP into the composite up to 1 wt% improved its modulus, tensile, and impact strength.