Thermal and corrosion (in)stability of polyamide 6 studied by broadband dielectric spectroscopy

Abstract

The thermal and corrosion (in)stability of polyamide 6 (PA6) is investigated by dielectric spectroscopy. The dielectric spectra can be decomposed into two local relaxation modes, two segmental modes and a high temperature conductivity/Maxwell-Wagner-Sillars process assigned to the blocking of charge carriers at interfaces between amorphous and crystalline phases of PA6. After thermal testing, the PA6 sample shows no changes in the dielectric spectra. However, after the corrosion test two main changes are observed: (1) A higher activation energy for the local β-relaxation process and (2) an increased intensity of the MWS/conductivity process which is shifted to lower temperatures. It is argued that the changes in the dielectric spectra are caused by remaining salt ions in the sample. A comparative study with non-polar polyethylene reveals that the incorporation of the salt ions during the corrosion test can be traced back to the polarity of PA6.