In recent years, the polymer/inorganic nanocomposite has attracted the attention of researchers due to its many excellent properties. Incorporating nano-zeolite as a spherical nanoparticle into the PA6 matrix can simultaneously improve the stiffness and strength properties. Standard specimens for mechanical testing of PA6/zeolite nanocomposites containing different fractions (2.5, 5 and 7.5 wt%) of nano-sized zeolite particles were fabricated using a twin-screw extruder and injection molding. The mechanical properties were characterized and the morphology was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). SEM micrographs showed that the nano-zeolite was uniformly distributed in the PA6 matrix. The incorporation of nano-zeolite into PA6 increased the tensile strength, tensile modulus, flexural strength, bending modulus, and impact strength. In addition, the nano-zeolite simultaneously imparts stiffness and stiffness to PA6, and the optimum properties were achieved at 5 wt% PA6/zeolite in terms of flexural strength and impact strength. A number of strengthening mechanisms were found for the nanocomposite gear samples, including crack fixation and crack deflection.
Plastics are lightweight, economical, and preferred alternatives to metals in many applications. Plastics have low mechanical and wear properties compared to metals, so they are reinforced with fillers and fibers to improve their mechanical properties. Composite materials provide the ability to combine different properties and materials to design for applications that require multiple functionalities. As a result, there is a growing interest in the development of new polymeric materials, especially in improving their mechanical properties, such as tensile strength and tensile modulus. These properties can be further enhanced by reinforcement. The properties of such a composite can be influenced by the type of reinforcement, the shape of the reinforcement, and the distribution of the reinforcement in the polymer matrix. Nanocomposites are emerging as a new class of composite materials in which one of the reinforcing phases is in the range of 1-100 nm. Recent studies of nanocomposites have revealed significant improvements in mechanical, tribological, and thermal properties without increasing the density of the nanocomposite. The property improvements are due to the high strengthening efficiency of these nanoparticles due to the large aspect ratio and improved interaction between the nanoparticles and the matrix. A number of researchers have investigated the effect of zeolite on the mechanical properties of polymer nanocomposites. The addition of 5 wt% nano-zeolite to polyurethane improved the tensile strength and Young’s modulus. Lv et al. investigated the effect of modified zeolite on the nucleation properties and mechanical properties of polypropylene. The results showed an increase in tensile and flexural strength and nucleation effect due to the addition of 0.3 wt.% zeolite to the base polymer. In addition, the addition of zeolite to high-density polyethylene (HDPE) increased the impact strength to failure.
Polyamide 6 (PA6) is widely used as an engineering plastic due to its excellent mechanical properties, tribological characteristics and chemical resistance. 12 polyamide 6 nanocomposites have been successfully fabricated and exhibit excellent mechanical properties. One of the main drawbacks of polyamides is their water absorption. Absorbed water in polyamide has a great impact on the mechanical properties and dimensional characteristics of molded parts. It can reduce the tensile modulus and strength. Adding glass fibers to PA6 resulted in an increase in water absorption resistance. However, the addition of glass fibers increases the melt viscosity, which can cause difficulties when molding thin-walled parts. Additionally, the abrasive nature of glass fiber can wear away at the screw and barrel of the injection molding machine. Therefore, the balance between the stiffness and toughness properties of the polymer has attracted the attention of researchers. The strategy of using rigid spherical nanoparticles as stiffening agents has been the topic of extensive research because it could strengthen and stiffen polymers at the same time. The addition of nano-CaCO3 particles to PA6 improved mechanical properties and reduced water absorption.
The incorporation of nano-zeolite as a spherical nanoparticle into the PA6 matrix can improve the stiffness and strength properties at the same time. The main objective of this study is to characterize PA6 without compromising the mechanical performance and ease of processing by blending PA6 with nanosealite particles.