The effect of polymer molar mass and silica nanoparticles on the rheological and mechanical properties of poly(Ε-caprolactone) nanocomposites

The influence of nanosilica on the crystallization behavior, rheology and mechanical properties of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) nanocomposites was investigated. It was found that the effect of nanofiller addition is dependent on the molar mass of the polymer matrix. For the higher molar mass matrix, a modest nucleation effect was observed, while in the lower molar mass matrices, this effect was absent. For the investigated range of filler contents, a modest increase in both modulus and ultimate tensile properties of the composites was observed. Lower molar mass matrices revealed voiding during deformation, which could be partly suppressed by the addition of nanofiller. The higher molar mass matrix showed no voiding in either the neat polymer or nanocomposite