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In this study, it was aimed to investigate the mechanical, thermal, and morphological properties of PA6 hybrid composites containing talc and wollastonite. Talc and wollastonite filled single and hybrid composites were prepared with melt compounding in a twin screw extruder. The filler content was 40% by weight and the wollastonite/talc ratio was 40/0, 30/10, 20/20, 10/30, and 40/0. The melt flow rate measurements showed that incorporation of fillers into the polyamide 6 (PA6) resulted in an increment in melt viscosity of composites. The presence of a homogeneous dispersion of fillers in the matrix was obtained from morphological analysis. It was revealed from the mechanical tests that in most cases, mechanical properties of 20/ 20 hybrid composites were significantly higher than that of the single and the other hybrid composites. Heat deflection temperature of the composite was markedly improved by the addition of fillers. Differential scanning calorimeter analysis showed that talc and wollastonite acted as a nucleating agent for PA6. POLYM. COMPOS., 36:739-746, 2015.

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In this study, nonisothermal crystallization kinetics of glass fiber (GF) and clay-type mineral (MN)-reinforced polyamide-6 (PA6) composites prepared in a twin screw extruder were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry method in the presence and absence of an organic nucleating agent (NA). Kinetic parameters for the nonisothermal melt-crystallization process of samples were determined with several models namely Ozawa, Avrami, Jeziorny, and Liu-Mo. Crystallization rate parameters of the samples and nucleation activity of the fillers and additives were also calculated by the models suggested by Zhang and Dobreva and Gutzow, respectively. Crystallization activation energies of the samples were determined by the Kissinger model. It was found that the MN filler accelerates dramatically the crystallization rate of PA6 even without a NA. Small amount of NA also has a significant acceleration effect on the crystallization rate of PA6 composites. The rate acceleration effect of NA was found to be more pronounced in the composite sample reinforced with GF. Based on the kinetic study using of GF as major filler and small amount of clay-like MN in the PA6 composites could improve the mechanical properties and crystallization rate of injection-molded parts. V C 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 125: E268-E281, 2012