Synthesis and Characterization of Polyamide 6 Nanocomposite Membrane

The usage of polyamide 6 membrane has been used in the separation process industry
for decades. In such process, the membrane is exposed to high pressure and
temperature condition. Another complication is the process of producing a uniform
microporous membrane. Recent improve being researched to improve these
membrane are adding nanocomposite filler. This comes to the objectives of this study
which is to study, prepare and characterize polyamide 6 nanocomposite membranes.
The polymer is prepared by mixing formic acid and polyamide 6 pellets, and lastly
mixing montmorillonite as the filler by immersion precipitation process. The
microstructure, morphology and mechanical properties of polyamide 6 nanocomposite
membrane is being studied using Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer (DMA), X-Ray
Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). It is found that at 1%
wt. of filler, the pore size, numbers of pores and distribution is evenacross the surface
of the membrane. But as the amount of filler increase, the pore size and numbers is
reduced even more and distributed unevenly across the surface. From previous study,
the Tg increases with the increment of filler amount. The mechanical properties have
also improved in terms of storage modulus andyield strength. Finally from XRD, the
orientation of arrangement also affect where more filler is added it changes from
exfoliated form to intercalated form. As a conclusion, from the SEM results, filler
content can influence pore size, their numbers and distribution of pores. Further
studies and experiment need to be conducted in order to study the effect of clay on
mechanical properties.
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