Mechanical Improvement of Poly(butylene succinate) with Polyamide Short Fibers

Abstract

SummaryThis research prepared polymer blend between poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) and polyamide‐6 (PA‐6) short fibers using solid‐melt mixing method. Temperature profile of a twin‐screw extruder was set in a fashion that only PBS was melted during the blending. Effect of short fiber content (3, 5, and 7 wt%) on mechanical, thermal, and morphological properties of PBS/PA‐6 fiber blends were investigated. It is found that increasing PA‐6 fiber content increased tensile modulus and impact strength of the blend but decreased tensile strength. Filling with PA‐6 fibers did not reduce elongation at break of PBS matrix, which a blend of 7 wt% fibers interestingly showed higher elongation at break than neat PBS. SEM images revealed that crinkled PA‐6 fibers were embedded in the PBS matrix showing good adhesion between PBS matrix and PA‐6 fibers. From DSC results, it showed that PA‐6 fibers acted as nucleating agent for PBS molecules to crystalline faster; however, the degree of crystallinity was reduced compared to neat PBS. Adding PA‐6 fibers did not affect thermal stability of PBS as seen in TGA results under oxygen atmosphere.