Isothermal Crystallization Behavior of Polyamide 6,6/Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Nanocomposites

The good dispersion of functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotube (f-MWCNT) in polyamide 6,6 (PA 6,6) matrix was prepared by solution mixing techniques. The crystalline structure and crystallization behaviors of PA 6,6 and PA 6,6/f-MWCNT nanocomposites were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and polarized optical microscopy (POM) analysis. DSC isothermal results revealed that the overall isothermal crystallization rates of PA 6,6 increased as well as the activation energy of PA 6,6 extensively decreased by adding f-MWCNT into PA 6,6, suggesting that the addition of f-MWCNT probably induces the heterogeneous nucleation. The effect of f-MWCNT on the chain arrangement for the crystallization of PA 6,6/f-MWCNT nanocomposites was also discussed. POLYM. ENG. SCL, 49:2447-2453,2009. (C) 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers