High-temperature X-ray diffraction studies on polyamide6/clay nanocomposites upon annealing

The influence of nanodispersed clay on the alpha crystalline structure of polyamide 6 (PA6) was examined in-situ with X-ray diffraction (XRD) between room temperature and melting. In pure PA6 upon annealing the alpha crystalline phase was substituted by an unstable pseudohexagonal phase at 150degreesC, then it transformed into a new stable crystalline structure - high temperature alpha' phase above the transition temperature. However, in PA6/clay nanocomposite (PA6CN), the alpha phase did not present crystalline phase transition on heating. The increase in the annealing temperature only led to continuous intensity variation. The different behaviors were caused by the confined spaces formed by silicate layers, which constrained the mobility of the polymer chains in-between.