Morphology and mechanical behaviour of PA6/montmorillonite nanocomposites fibers

Polymer-clay nanocomposites represent an interesting topic in materials research because of their promising properties which can be obtained with very low filler content. As well known, the performances improvement of these composites is realized when clay particles are accurately dispersed in the polymer matrix and intercalation between matrix macromolecules and clay lamellae exist. Many studies on shear flow rheology of polymer-clay nanocomposites are present in the literature but there are only a few reports about the extensional flow behaviour of nanocomposite melts. Nevertheless, extensional flows are very common in polymer processing operation, such as in the case of film or fiber extrusion. This work focuses on the study of uniaxial elongational flow and to its effect on morphology and performances of polymer-layered silicate nanocomposites. In particular a polyamide based nanocomposites, prepared by twin screw extrusion melt compounding, was investigated