Metal–polymer nanocomposites produced by the melt‐compounding interaction of an aliphatic polyamide with metal particles

Composites prepared at 200°C by the melt compounding of copolymer polyamide 6/66 and ferric chloride, ferric oxalate, cupric chloride, cupric formiate, cupric acetate, Cr‐carbonyl, Mo‐carbonyl, or W‐carbonyl have been studied. The solution stability and aggregation suppression for nanoparticles in a polyamide can be explained by the formation of stable polymer–metal complexes. The nitrogen atoms of amide and amine groups of polymers serve as ligands for the coordination compounds that form. The dynamic viscosity of the solutions suggests that Cr‐carbonyl forms mostly intermolecular complexes, whereas ferric oxalate, ferric chloride, cupric formiate, cupric acetate, cupric chloride, Cr‐carbonyl, Mo‐carbonyl, and W‐carbonyl form intramolecular complexes. The critical concentrations for metal‐containing compounds at which a dispersion rises to nanodimensions without aggregating in the polymer matrix under the experimental conditions are 0.024 wt % for ferric oxalate, 0.12 wt % for ferric chloride, 0.08 wt % for cupric formiate, 0.096 wt % for cupric acetate, and 0.19 wt % for cupric chloride. Metal carbonyls undergo dispersion (with their concentration up to 5 wt %) in polyamide 6/66 without aggregating into larger formations. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2007