Miscibility studies of poly-p-phenylene terephthalamide/polyamide molecular composites

Miscibility characteristics of poly-p-phenylene terephthalamide (PPTA) with nylon 6, nylon 66, nylon 11, and nylon 12 have been examined by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). Mixtures of PPTA/nylon 6, 66, 11, and 12 and amorphous nylon were prepared by coagulation in water from isotropic sulfuric acid solutions. The WAXD investigation shows the presence of small amounts of disordered crystals in the regenerated pure PPTA and to a lesser amount in the blends of PPTA/amorphous nylon or PPTA/aliphatic crystalline nylons. DSC studies show the melting point depression of nylon crystals. At low PPTA contents, a small melting point elevation occurs in nylon 6, presumably due to nucleation. The Flory-Huggins interaction parameter (χ) was subsequently calculated from the melting point depression of the nylons.