Ultra-toughened nylon 12 nanocomposites reinforced with IF-WS 2

Inorganic fullerene-like WS 2 nanoparticle- (IF-WS 2 ) reinforced nylon 12 nanocomposites have been prepared through effective ultrasonic mixing without using any surfactant, followed by molding at 220 °C. Morphological characterizations using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) have revealed the excellent dispersion of IF-WS 2 nanoparticles in the nylon 12 matrix. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses have confirmed that a phase transition from α ′-phase to a more stable γ -phase took place during the sintering of nylon 12, regardless of the amount of IF-WS 2 added to the matrix. At a very low IF-WS 2 content of 2 wt%, the tensile strength and bending strength of the composites increased slightly by 27% and 28%, respectively. However, the toughness dramatically improved by 185% and 148% at IF-WS 2 additions of 0.25 and 0.5 wt%, respecti...

Fang Xu, Chunze Yan, Yat-Tarng Shyng, Hong Chang, Yongde Xia and Yanqiu Zhu

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