Effects of Hybrid POSS Nanoparticles on the Properties of Thermoplastic Elastomer-Toughened Polyamide 6

Rumeysa Yıldırım; Muhammad Saeed Ullah; Hürol Koçoğlu; Merve Ün; Nazlı Yazıcı Çakır; Gülşah Demir; Duygu Çetin; Gizem Urtekin; Güralp Özkoç; Olcay Mert; Mehmet Kodal

doi:10.1021/acsomega.3c06896

Effects of Hybrid POSS Nanoparticles on the Properties of Thermoplastic Elastomer-Toughened Polyamide 6

ACS Omega. 2023 Nov 29;8(49):47034-47050. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.3c06896. eCollection 2023 Dec 12.

Authors

Rumeysa Yıldırım¹, Muhammad Saeed Ullah², Hürol Koçoğlu³, Merve Ün¹, Nazlı Yazıcı Çakır², Gülşah Demir², Duygu Çetin¹, Gizem Urtekin², Güralp Özkoç^{4

5}, Olcay Mert^{1

6}, Mehmet Kodal^{1

2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Polymer Science and Technology Graduate Programme, Kocaeli University, 41001 Kocaeli, Türkiye.
² Chemical Engineering Department, Kocaeli University, 41001 Kocaeli, Türkiye.
³ Mechanical Engineering Department, Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University, 14030 Bolu, Türkiye.
⁴ Nanotechnology Research and Application Center SUNUM, Sabanci University, 34956 İstanbul, Türkiye.
⁵ Chemistry Department, İstinye University, 34010 İstanbul, Türkiye.
⁶ Chemistry Department, Kocaeli University, 41001 Kocaeli, Türkiye.

Abstract

In this study, polyamide 6 (PA6)/thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) blends were prepared to decrease the notch sensitivity of PA6 for automotive applications, and the morphological, rheological, mechanical, and thermal properties of PA6/TPE blends, which are partially miscible or immiscible depending on the TPE ratio, were significantly improved in the existence of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) nanoparticles with multiple reactive epoxy groups as compatibilizers. An unstable phase morphology was obtained with the addition of TPE into PA6 without POSS nanoparticles, whereas interfacial interactions between phases in the presence of POSS were enhanced as a result of a significant decrease in the average particle size from 1.39 to 0.41 μm. The complex viscosity value of the 70PA6/30TPE blend, which was 20 kPa/s^-1 at 0.1 rad/s angular frequency, reached 380 kPa/s^-1 with the addition of POSS due to the formation of long chains by the generation of graft and/or block copolymers, which resulted in a 65% increase in Young's modulus value. Most notably, the Izod impact strength of pure PA6, which was 10 kJ/m², increased by 290% with the incorporation of POSS. It was confirmed by FTIR analysis that the reactive multiple epoxy groups of MultEpPOSS and EPPOSS nanoparticles react with the proper groups of PA6 and/or TPE, and also, a partial hydrogen bonding interaction occurs between PA6-TPE from the shifting of N-H and carbonyl peaks. In conclusion, it can be suggested that POSS nanoparticles can serve as highly effective compatibilizers for PA6/TPE blends and have potential commercial applications, especially in the automotive sector.