ABSTRACT
In this study, the thermal stability and mechanical properties of polyamide 6.6 (PA) and their nanocomposites with cellulose nanofibers (CNF) were investigated. In order to have uniform dispersion of CNF in the PA and the processing at high temperatures, the materials were initially premixed and further processed by extrusion and injection molding. The results obtained by thermogravimetric analysis confirmed the lower thermal stability of the samples without CNF in comparison to the samples with CNF. The premix and the processing influence on the thermal stability of the samples. The results obtained by tensile test showed the addition of 1% CNF leads to an average increase of 16% in the elastic modulus in comparison to the neat PA. The premix and the incorporation of CNF did not impair the elastic modulus and maximum tensile strength, and may indicate an alternative use for PA, depending on the final application of the material.
Keywords:
Cellulose nanofibers; polyamide 6.6; nanocomposites; thermal stability; mechanical properties
