EFFECTS OF SILICA NANOFIBERS AND MMT CLAY ON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF POLYAMIDE 6: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

• DOI: 10.22533/at.ed.8182308126

• Palavras-chave: Silica nanofibers, solution blow spinning, polyamide 6, montmorillonite clay

• Keywords: Silica nanofibers, solution blow spinning, polyamide 6, montmorillonite clay

• Abstract: Polymeric nanocomposites have been outstanding in recent years. The most used fillers have been montmorillonite clay (MMT) and silica nanoparticles due to their high aspect ratio. However, the tendency to agglomeration during the process has made it difficult to obtain nanocomposites with desired properties. The use of fillers as nanofibers may prevent such aggregation. This study aims to obtain silica nanofibers, comparing their mechanical properties with MMT as fillers into a polymeric matrix. Nanofibers were obtained by Solution Blow Spinning (SBS) followed calcination process. SEM analyzes was performed indicating the silica fibers in nanoscale. The nanofibers were incorporated in polyamide 6 film-forming solution and the hybrids were submitted to mechanical tests. The best mechanical resistances were obtained with the 1.5% content for both fillers. There was a decrease in the ductility with the increase of the MMT content, but such influence was not observed for silica nanofibers.