Effect of Nano-CaCO3 on Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Polyamide Nanocomposites

Polyamide-CaCO3 nanocomposites were prepared by melt intercalation on twin-screw extruder. Various particle sizes (23, 17 and 11 nm) of CaCO3 were synthesized by in-situ deposition technique. The shape and sizes of nano-CaCO3 particles were confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Nano-CaCO3 was added from 1 to 4 wt% in the polyamide. Properties such as Tensile strength, Elongation at break, Hardness, and Flame retardency were studied. These results were compared with commercial CaCO3 filled composites. Nano-CaCO3 filled in polyamide shows, 3 fold improvement in Young's modulus in comparison to commercial CaCO3 and 4-7 folds to virgin polyamide. Besides that, a polyamide nanocomposite shows 2 times improvements in flame retarding and vicat softening properties compared to commercial CaCO3. Moreover, thermal degradation was studied on TGA and found to be improved compared to commercial CaCO3. This was due to uniform dispersion of nano-CaCO3 with greater surface area in comparison to commercial CaCO3 in the polyamide matrix. Extent of dispersion of nano-CaCO3 was studied along with microcracks generated during tensile testing using scanning electron microscope (SEM).