Abstract:

With the view of improving the properties of PA6, different contents of thermal liquid crystalline polyamide were blended with PA6 without any compatibilizer to fabricate PA6/TLCP composites by means of the Haake Rheometer. Phase behaviour, tensile properties and fracture morphology were studied. It was compatibilized directly and without phase separation when the addition of TLCP less than 10%. Addition of 5% TLCP in PA6 increased the tensile strength by 5.2%, Young's modulus by 38.3%, and elongation at break by 280% as compared with pure PA6. Simultaneously, the morphology was typical ductile rupture. As the addition of TLCP in PA6 beyond 15%, it was difficult for particles of TLCP to be dispersed thoroughly in PA6 matrix, which induced the selfcongregations and phase separation of TLCP along with the typical transition from tough to brittle detected by SEM resulted in the dramatic drop in mechanical properties. Addition of appropriate content of TLCP favored improvement in toughness of PA6/TLCP composites without the expense of tensile modulus.

Key words: polyamide 6, thermal liquid crystalline polyamide, toughening, fracture morphology