Enhanced toughness for polyamide 6 with a core-shell structured polyacrylic modifier

Abstract

Polyamide 6 (PA 6) is an important thermoplastic with excellent strength, stiffness, and good chemical resistance. The notch sensitivity and low notch impact toughness of PA 6, however, limit its application. A core-shell structured polyacrylic modifier, poly(n-butyl acrylate)/poly(methyl methacrylate-co-methacrylic acid) modifier (PBM-co-MAA), was used to toughen PA 6. To study the effect of PBM-co-MAA particles on the toughness of PA 6, various contents of poly(BA) in PBM-co-MAA latexes of 300 nm were synthesized by seed emulsion polymerization. The results showed that polymerization had an instantaneous conversion higher than 95 wt% and an overall conversion higher than 97 wt%. The PBM-co-MAA particles had a clear core–shell structure confirmed by transmission electron microscope (TEM). The mechanical properties of PA 6/PBM-co-MAA blends showed that the notch impact strength of PA 6/PBM-co-MAA blends with 85 wt% poly(BA) and 0.5 wt% MAA in PBM-co-MAA was nearly six times greater than that of pure PA 6, being consistent with the scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations on the fractured surfaces. The notch impact strengths of PA 6/PBM-co-MAA blends were also better than that of PA 6/PBM blend, which did not contain MAA functional group in the modifier. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) results showed improved compatibility between PA 6 matrix and core-shell toughening modifier, which should contain a functional group in the shell layer and a suitable core rubbery content to toughen PA 6 effectively.

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