Crystallization, crystal structure, and isothermal melt crystallization kinetics of novel polyamide 6/SiO2 nanocomposites prepared using the sol-gel technique.

Polyamide 6/SiO2 (PA6/SiO2) nanocomposites with varying amounts of SiO2 were prepared by using a novel sol-gel technique. These nanocomposites were formed in situ by hydrolysis and through the condensation of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) using formic acid with a small amount of water as the solvent for PA6. Observations of TGA showed that the thermal stability of PA6 nanocomposite was significantly improved compared to that of neat PA6.