Fine structure of nylon–6–clay hybrid

Nylon‐6–clay hybrid (NCH) is a molecular composite of Nylon‐6 and uniformly dispersed silicate monolayers of montmorillonite. In this study, orientation of montmorillonite and Nylon‐6 crystallites in the NCH film was measured by x‐ray diffraction and transmission electron micrography (TEM), which revealed that, the silicate layers and the Nylon‐6 crystallites (γ‐form) have planar orientation, independent of montmorillonite content. Based on the crystal structure model proposed by Bradbury et al., it seems that hydrogen bonded sheet plane {020} or zigzag plane of molecular backbone {110} is parallel to the film surface. In contrast, crystallites in pure Nylon‐6 film are randomly oriented. The degree of orientation of Nylon‐6 crystallites increases with content of montmorillonite.