The Influence of Sepiolite Orientation and Concentration, on the Morphological, Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Bio-Polyamide 4.10 Nanocomposites

Abstract

Nowadays, trends in automotive sector are toward high-performance materials, but also the concern about the environment has become an important driver for car manufacturers. In this sense, reinforced polymers are lightweight materials that can replace metals in some structural applications with an outstanding contribution to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions. In short fiber-reinforced polymers, processed by injection molding, the fibers are oriented in multiple and arbitrary directions. Due to the arrangement of the fibers, these materials present different thermomechanical behavior. In this study, bio-polyamide 4.10/sepiolite (0–15 wt%) nanocomposites obtained by melt compounding were injected using a square plate mold. Specimens were mechanized in different directions (0°, 45°, and 90°) from this square plate and morphologically and thermomechanically tested. The sepiolite reinforcement results showed improvement in the thermomechanical properties. Moreover, despite the nanometer size of the reinforcement, the mechanical properties were also dependent on the fiber orientation during the injection molding of the nanocomposites. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 60:1035–1043, 2020. © 2020 Society of Plastics Engineers.