Enhancing the mechanical performance of polymer based nanocomposites by plasma-modification of nanoparticles

The possibility of enhancing the mechanical performance of two different polymer-based nanocomposites using polyamide 6 (PA6) and poly[ethylene-co-(vinyl acetate)] (EVA) as matrices was investigated. The nanofillers used were, respectively, either carbon nanotubes (CNTs) or an organically modified montmorillonite (Cloisite 15A), both previously modified by plasma treatment to introduce polar moieties. The nanofillers were fully characterized by Raman spectroscopy, XPS, FT-IR and XRD, demonstrating their effective modification with oxygenated groups. The nanocomposites were prepared by melt processing in order to obtain films and fibres. The mechanical tests carried out on the nanocomposites showed a remarkable increase of the elastic modulus when plasma modified nanoparticles were used. The improvement of wettability and dispersion of the nanofillers in the polymer matrices, as confirmed by SEM observations, can be invoked to explain this feature.