Synthetic silica nanospheres of 20 and 100 nm diameter were produced via the sol-gel method to be used as filler in polypropylene (PP) composites. Modification of the silica surface was further performed by reaction with organic chlorosilanes in order to improve the particles interaction with the hydrophobic polyolefin matrix. These nanoparticles were characterized using transmission electronic microscopy (TEM), elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. For unmodified silica, it was found that the 20 nm particles have a greater effect on both mechanical and barrier properties of the polymeric composite. In particular, at 30 wt%, Young's modulus increases by 70%, whereas water vapor permeability (WVP) increases by a factor of 6. Surface modification of the 100 nm particles doubles the value of the composite breaking strain compared to unmodified particles without affecting Young's modulus, while 20 nm modified particles presented a slight increase on both Young's modulus and breaking strain. Modified 100 nm particles showed a higher WVP compared to the unmodified particles, probably due to interparticle condensation during the modification step. Our results show that the addition of nanoparticles on the composite properties depends on both particle size and surface modifications.

No abstract

No abstract

The permeation of O2, N2 and H2O through polyamide‐6 nanocomposites, prepared with silica nanospheres of different diameters, is reported in this contribution. The mechanical and thermal properties were also evaluated. The nanocomposites were produced by melt mixing the polyamide‐6 with silica nanospheres 12–150 nm in diameter, prepared using standard sol‐gel methods; it was found that the addition of 3 wt% of silica nanospheres to the polyamide‐6 matrix results in an increase in the O2 and N2 permeability. This increase was inversely correlated with the nanosphere diameter but directly correlated with the number of spheres added to the matrix, using the same percentage by weight. The same behaviour was found for the water vapour transmission rate. The increase in permeability is probably due to the formation of voids around the particles, which increases the free volume of the polymer. The addition of the nanospheres, regardless of the sphere diameter, generated an increase of 6% in the Young's modulus, a decrease of 65% in the elongation at break and a 24% decrease in the percentage of crystallinity. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry

No abstract