Microinjection molding of polyamide 6

Influence of Cross-Linking Agent Concentration/Beta Radiation Surface Modification on the Micro-Mechanical Properties of Polyamide 6

This study focuses on the problematic of polyamide 6 containing various concentrations of cross-linking agent that was exposed to electron radiation. It is important to improve the material properties of polymers as much as possible. This endeavor can be realized by numerous methods, one of which is radiation exposure. This study investigates the effect of electron beam radiation in doses ranging from 66 to 132 kGy on the micro-mechanical properties of polymers, specifically polyamide 6 filled with 1, 3 and 5 wt.% of cross-linking agent triallyl isocyanurate (TAIC). The changes in the material brought by the radiation exposure were quantified by measurements of indentation hardness and modulus, which were the main measured micro-mechanical properties. Furthermore, thermo-mechanical analysis (TMA) was chosen to confirm the results of the material cross-linking, while the effect of degradation was investigated by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). In pursuit of complete evaluation, the topography of the test subject's surface was explored by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The optimal concentration/radiation ratio was found in polyamide 6 enriched by 5 wt.% concentration of TAIC, which was irradiated by 132 kGy. Material treated in such a way had its indentation hardness by 33% and indentation modulus improved by 26% in comparison with the untreated material. These results were subsequently confirmed by the TMA and FTIR methods.

Effect of Hybrid Carbon Fillers on the Electrical and Morphological Properties of Polystyrene Nanocomposites in Microinjection Molding

The effect of hybrid carbon fillers of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT) and carbon black (CB) on the electrical and morphological properties of polystyrene (PS) nanocomposites were systematically investigated in microinjection molding (μIM). The polymer nanocomposites with three different filler concentrations (i.e., 3, 5 and 10 wt %) at various weight ratios of CNT/CB (100/0, 30/70, 50/50, 70/30, 0/100) were prepared by melt blending, then followed by μIM under a defined set of processing conditions. A rectangular mold insert which has three consecutive zones with decreasing thickness along the flow direction was adopted to study abrupt changes in mold geometry on the properties of resultant microparts. The distribution of carbon fillers within microparts was observed by scanning electron microscopy, which was correlated with electrical conductivity measurements. Results indicated that there is a flow-induced orientation of incorporated carbon fillers and this orientation increased with increasing shearing effect along the flow direction. High structure CB is found to be more effective than CNT in terms of enhancing the electrical conductivity, which was attributed to the good dispersion of CB in PS and their ability to form conductive networks via self-assembly. Morphology observations indicated that there is a shear-induced depletion of CB particles in the shear layer, which is due to the marked difference of shear rates between the shear and core layers of the molded microparts. Moreover, an annealing treatment is beneficial to enhance the electrical conductivity of CNT-containing microparts.