Study on the Morphology and Properties of Nylon11/Montmorillonite Nanocomposites

nylon 11 nanocomposites with different montmorillonite loadings were successfully prepared by melt compounding. XRD and TEM show the exfoliated nanocomposites are formed at low montmorillonite concentration(less than 2wt%) and the intercalated nanocomposites are obtained at higher montmorillonite contents. TGA shows that the thermal stability of the nanocomposites is improved by 27°C when the montmorillonite content is only 2wt%. Mechanical testing shows that the Izod impact strength of all nanocomposites are higher than that of the neat nylon 11, but the tensile strength of the nanocomposites decrease at low nanofiller concentrations (less than 8wt%) and than increased, when the montmorillonite content is 10wt% ,the tensile strength of the nanocomposite is 5% improved than neat nylon 11. This is may be due to the strong interaction between the nylon 11 matrix and the montmorillonite interface.