Improvement of polyamide 1010 with silica nanospheres via in situ melt polycondensation

Polyamide 1010 (PA1010) had been prepared by in situ melt polycondensation in presence of silica nanospheres with amine groups on the surfaces (SiO2?NH2). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) measurements demonstrated that the nanosphere surface was grafted with PA1010 chains. Wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements showed that the PA1010/SiO2?NH2 nanocomposites had a lower degree of crystallinity (?c) in comparison with PA1010 and PA1010/SiO2 nanocomposites. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) indicated that SiO2?NH2 nanospheres improved glass transition temperature (Tg), tensile strength and storage modulus of PA1010 since SiO2NH2 nanospheres limited the mobility of PA1010 chains. POLYM. COMPOS., 2012. (c) 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers