Synthesis and characterization of nylon 1012/clay nanocomposite

A nylon 1012/clay nanocomposite was prepared by melt polycondensation polymerization of diamine and diacid in the presence of organoclay. The nylon 1012 and nanocomposite were characterized by Fourier transform IR spectroscopy with attenuated total reflection, and a shift of the Si-O-Si band toward a lower wavenumber was found as the result of the strong interaction of nylon 1012 with the organoclay. The X-ray diffraction analysis and transmission electron microscopy observation showed that the clay minerals were exfoliated. Clay platelets increased the crystallization rate but decreased the crystallinity. Differential scanning calorimetry and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis measurements showed that the glass-transition temperature of the nylon 1012/clay nanocomposite decreased to some degree as compared to nylon 1012 because of the combined effect of confinement and the reduction of the physical crosslink density. The mechanical properties of the nanocomposite such as the tensile strength and tensile modulus are higher than those of nylon 1012, and the water absorption is reduced because of the improvement in the barrier property of the nanocomposite. (C) 2002 John Wiley Sons, Inc.