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Mechanical behavior and optical transparency of polyamide 6 of different morphology formed by variation of the pathway of crystallization

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Abstract

The phase composition and supermolecular structure of polyamide 6 (PA 6) melt-crystallized on cooling at different rates or cold-crystallized at different temperatures were characterized and related to the optical transparency, stiffness and the stress–strain behavior. Cold-crystallization results in non-spherulitic formation of γ-mesophase or α-crystals, depending on the maximum annealing temperature. Both mesophase and crystals are of nodular shape. Melt-crystallization at low supercooling leads to formation of lamellar α-crystals and spherulites, while at high supercooling the nodular mesophase is forming. The absence of spherulites in cold-crystallized PA 6 films leads to high see-through clarity which is in contrast to the slowly melt-crystallized samples with opaque appearance. While Young’s modulus and the glass transition temperature increase with increasing crystallinity, for samples of identical crystallinity stiffness is considerably higher if the crystals are of lamellar rather than of nodular shape. The higher glass transition temperature of cold-crystallized PA 6 is related to a higher rigid amorphous fraction than in melt-crystallized samples pointing to a stronger coupling of the amorphous phase to ordered domains.

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Acknowledgments

Financial support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Grant AN 212/9) is greatly acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center of Engineering Sciences, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, 06099, Halle (Saale), Germany

    Igor Kolesov & René Androsch

  2. Borealis Polyolefine GmbH, St.-Peter-Str. 25, 4021, Linz, Austria

    Daniela Mileva

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  1. Igor Kolesov
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  2. Daniela Mileva
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  3. René Androsch
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Correspondence to Igor Kolesov.

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Kolesov, I., Mileva, D. & Androsch, R. Mechanical behavior and optical transparency of polyamide 6 of different morphology formed by variation of the pathway of crystallization. Polym. Bull. 71, 581–593 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-013-1079-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-013-1079-9

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