Material PropertiesReactive processing of anionic polyamide-6 for application in fiber composites: A comparitive study with melt processed polyamides and nanocomposites

The present study describes reactively processed anionic polyamide-6 (APA-6) as improved matrix for continuous fibre composites and compares it with melt processed PA-6 and PA-6 nanocomposites. Whereas the reinforcing effect of nanoparticles is already extensively documented, this study shows that reactive processing results in a particular crystal morphology, which itself already causes a similar reinforcing effect. The effect of processing parameters like temperature, pressure and demoulding time on the reactively processed material is discussed. Additionally, it will be shown that both the reactively processed polyamide-6 and the nanocomposite show improved property retention at elevated temperature and are less affected by moisture absorption. It is expected that APA-6 will improve the performance of fibre composites in the same way as nanocomposites. Additionally, reactive processing of polyamide-6 composites using, for instance, vacuum infusion will make it possible to manufacture larger and thicker parts with a higher level of integration and complexity than is possible with traditional melt processing of thermoplastic composites.