Homopolymer poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and nylon-6 (PA-6) and a blend (1:1 by weight) of these polymers, are each extruded as strips and ultraquenched from the melt. After zone drawing and additional annealing at temperatures, T~, of 220 or 240°C for 5 or 25 h in vacuum, the samples are studied by differential scanning calorimetry, small-angle and wide-angle X-ray scattering, and mechanical testing. It is found that all components in the blend are oriented and that the perfection of the structure develops with increasing Ta up to 220°C. At T a = 240°C, isotropization of the PA-6 component is observed, while the orientation of the PET is preserved. A microfibrillar reinforced composite is obtained, with mechanical properties as high as those of glass-fibre-reinforced nylons and surprisingly large (about 100 x ) deformability. It is shown that during thermal treatment for longer time, in addition to physical processes (crystallization and relaxation), chemical interactions (additional condensation and exchange reactions) take place at the interfaces, resulting in the formation of PET-PA-6 block copolymers playing the role of compatibilizers. Further interaction between PET (partially) and PA-6 (completely) amorphous phases leads ultimately to the involvement of the entire amount of PA-6 in the block copolymers, thus converting the starting PA-6 matrix of the microfibrillar reinforced composite into a PET-PA-6 copolymer matrix
Посилання на статтю:
Microfibrillar reinforced composite from drawn poly(ethylene terephthalate) / nylon-6 blend / S. Fakirov and M. Evstatiev // Polymer. – 1993. – Vol 34. – P. 4669-4679.
