Epitaxial crystallization between Polyamide 66 (PA66) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) can enhance the interfacial interaction and the mechanical properties of PA66/RGO nanocomposites. In situ two-dimensional synchrotron radiation wide angle X-ray diffraction and small angle X-ray scattering were used to track the structural evolution of the PA66/RGO nanocomposites with an epitaxial crystal during uniaxial deformation. In the PA66/RGO nanocomposites, the structural evolution of non-epitaxial and epitaxial crystals could be clearly analyzed. The non-epitaxial crystal, whose crystal plane can slip, shows the rearrangement and the Brill transition during uniaxial deformation. While the PA66 chains of an epitaxial crystal are held by RGO, the crystal plane could therefore not slip. The epitaxial crystal also constrains the deformation of the amorphous phase and the crystal form transition of non-epitaxial crystals around them. With the content increase of epitaxial crystals, the constraint effect becomes more obvious. Therefore, the rigid epitaxial crystals in the PA66/RGO nanocomposites promote mechanical properties. The present findings can deepen the understanding of structural evolution during the tensile deformation of PA66/RGO nanocomposites and the influence of the epitaxial crystals on the mechanical property in semicrystalline polymers with a H-bond.
© 2021 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.