In this study, the morphology, rheological behavior, thermal behavior, and mechanical properties of a polyamide 6 (PA6) and olefin block copolymer (OBC) blend compatibilized with maleic anhydride-grafted polyethylene-octene copolymer (POE-g-MAH) were investigated. The morphological observations showed that the addition of POE-g-MAH enhanced the OBC particle dispersion in the PA6 matrix, suggesting a better interfacial compatibility between the pure PA6 and OBC. The results of the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis and the Molau test confirmed the compatibilization reactions between POE-g-MAH and PA6. The rheological test revealed that the melt viscosity, storage modulus (G’), and loss modulus (G”) of the compatibilized PA6/OBC blends at low frequency were increased with the increasing POE-g-MAH content. The thermal analysis indicated that the addition of OBC had little effect on the crystallization behavior of PA6, while the incorporation of POE-g-MAH at high content (7 wt%) in the PA6/OBC blend restricted the crystallization of PA6. In addition, the compatibilized blends exhibited a significant enhancement in impact strength compared to the uncompatibilized PA6/OBC blend, in which the highest value of impact strength obtained at a POE-g-MAH content of 7 wt% was about 194% higher than that of pure PA6 under our experimental conditions.

Biaxially oriented polyamide‐6 (BOPA) film has been widely used in many packaging applications. However, the BOPA film with excellent toughness is still required when utilizing in the field of soft‐packaged lithium‐ion batteries, pharmaceutical blister packaging, or frozen food packaging especially for vacuum packaging of irregular‐shaped food products. The purpose of this study was to improve the toughness of BOPA films by toughening with poly(ether block amide) (PEBA) (BOPA/PEBA films) based on the simultaneous biaxial stretching technology. The crystal structure, morphology, optical properties, barrier, and mechanical properties of BOPA/PEBA films were investigated. The results showed that the incorporation of PEBA into BOPA films slightly decreased the melting temperature and crystallinity of PA6, and the BOPA/PEBA films exhibited only α‐form crystals and no preferential orientation in the machine direction (MD) and transition direction (TD). The morphological observation showed that higher addition of PEBA led to the formation of microvoids due to the poor compatibility between PA6 and PEBA. As a result, the transmittance and oxygen barrier properties of the BOPA/PEBA films decreased. In addition, mechanical analysis suggested that the addition of PEBA could effectively improve the toughness of BOPA film.

MXene modified by stearic acid (Ti 3 C 2 T x -g-SA) is incorporated into poly(lactic acid) (PLA) matrix to prepare Ti 3 C 2 T x -g-SA/PLA composites. The effects of Ti 3 C 2 T x -g-SA to pure PLA are investigated, including crystallization, mechanical, and thermal properties. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses confirm that Ti 3 C 2 T x interlayer is successfully intercalated by SA, and the interlayer spacing of Ti 3 C 2 T x is increased. Differential scanning calorimetry illustrates that the cold crystallization enthalpy (ΔH cc ), melting enthalpy (ΔH m ), and crystallinity (X c ) of Ti 3 C 2 T x -g-SA/PLA composites are improved by the plasticization and heterogeneous nucleation effect of Ti 3 C 2 T x -g-SA. Specially, the Ti 3 C 2 T x -g-SA/PLA composites exhibit excellent mechanical properties at an appropriate content of the Ti 3 C 2 T x -g-SA. Compared with pure PLA, the elongation at break of the Ti 3 C 2 T x -g-SA/PLA composite is increased 5.9-fold (up to 131.6%) when only containing 0.5 wt % Ti 3 C 2 T x -g-SA. Besides, the Ti 3 C 2 T x -g-SA/PLA composites exhibit good thermal stability in the low loading (lower than 1 wt %) of Ti 3 C 2 T x -g-SA.

A new bio-based polyamide 56/512 (PA56/512) has been synthesized with a higher bio-based composition compared to industrialized bio-based PA56, which is considered a lower carbon emission bio-based nylon. In this paper, the one-step approach of copolymerizing PA56 units with PA512 units using melt polymerization has been investigated. The structure of the copolymer PA56/512 was characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR). Other measurement methods, including relative viscosity tests, amine end group measurement, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), were used to analyze the physical and thermal properties of the PA56/512. Furthermore, the non-isothermal crystallization behaviors of PA56/512 have been investigated with the analytical model of Mo’s method and the Kissinger method. The melting point of copolymer PA56/512 exhibited a eutectic point at 60 mol% of 512 corresponding to the typical isodimorphism behavior, and the crystallization ability of PA56/512 also displayed a similar tendency.

Antibacterial packaging materials can reduce the microbial contamination of food surfaces. In this study, magnesium oxide (MgO) nanoparticles were synthesized and then coated with cetrimonium bromide (CTAB). CTAB-modified MgO (MgO@CTAB) was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric analysis. Then, different loadings of MgO@CTAB were mixed with poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) by melt compounding. The results showed that the addition of MgO@CTAB deteriorated the thermal stability of PBAT due to MgO serving as a catalyst to promote the thermal degradation of PBAT. In addition, MgO@CTAB could serve as a nucleating agent to improve the crystallinity of PBAT. With the optimal 3 wt% of MgO@CTAB, the tensile strength of PBAT/MgO@CTAB increased from 26.66 to 29.90 MPa, with a slight enhancement in elongation at break. SEM observations and dynamical rheological measurements revealed that aggregation occurred when the content of MgO@CTAB exceeded 5 wt%. The presence of MgO@CTAB endowed PBAT with antibacterial properties. The bacterial inhibition zone increased with the increasing content of MgO@CTAB. In addition, MgO@CTAB had a better antibacterial efficiency against Gram-positive bacterial S. aureus than Gram-negative bacterial E. coli.