Mechanical properties and morphology of nylon 11/tetrapod-shaped zinc oxide whisker composite

Nylon 11/tetrapod-shaped zinc oxide whisker (T-ZnOw) composites were prepared via melt blending in a co-rotating twin-screw extruder. The mechanical properties, morphology and crystal structure were investigated. The tensile strength was increased by 15.7% as adding of 15 phr T-ZnOw, while the optimum values of room temperature and low temperature (−40 °C) notched Izod impact strength was increased by 281% and 65% as adding 5 phr and 8 phr T-ZnOw, respectively. The morphologies showed that the addition of T-ZnOw resulted in the formation of “terrace” structure and stress whitening, both which can be attributed to improve the toughness of the composites. The different crystal forms in the inner and skin layer were observed, and the intensity of the crystal was affected by the incorporation of T-ZnOw.