Binary alloys of nylon 6 and ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymers: Morphological,thermal and mechanical analysis

The morphology and mechanical properties of binary blends of nylon 6 (N6), as the major component, and ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymers (E/MAA), as the minor component, have been analyzed. It was found that the methacrylic acid content of the copolymer used as the second component has a profound effect upon the properties of the resulting blends. In particular, with increasing methacrylic acid content, the size of the domains of the E/MAA dispersed phase in the N6 matrix decreased in a regular fashion while the ultimate tensile properties increased regularly. This behavior has been attributed to a series of chemical and physico-chemical interactions taking place between the two components. The interactions are due to the presence of the acid functionality on the copolymer and do not occur when this functionality is absent. Chemical analysis of the blends was performed to confirm that chemical modification took place during the blending process.