The Influence of Interfacial Adhesion on the Predicted Young's Modulus of Mica-Reinforced Nylon-6

Particle-filled polymer composites have become attractive because of their wide applications and low cost. Various factors influence the mechanical properties of thermoplastic composites. Of these, the aspect ratio of the reinforcement, interfacial adhesion, and binder content are the most important. Other than these, the particle size and particle size distribution of the reinforcement also influence the mechanical properties. In this paper, injection molded mica composites were investigated, using nylon-6 as a binder. Many models are available to predict the Young's modulus of the composites. A theoretical model for Young's modulus by Lewis and Nielsen was used to predict the Young's modulus of the composites. Tetra isopropyl titanate (TYZOR® TPT) was used to modify the adhesion between the reinforcement and the binder by mixing it with the reinforcement prior to compounding. It was found that Young's modulus was greater than the predicted values.