Search Results

ϵ-caprolactam was polymerized in the interlayer space of montmorillonite, the clay mineral yielding a nylon-clay hybrid (NCH). X-ray and TEM measurements revealed that each template of the silicate, which was 1 nm thick, was dispersed in the nylon 6 matrix, and that the interlayer distance of clay increased continuously from 1.2 nm for the unintercalated material to 21.4 nm for the intercalated material. Thus, NCH is a polymer-based molecular composite or a nano-composite. NCH contains 1-15 vol% of monolayer clay. Injection-molded NCH showed excellent mechanical properties compared with nylon 6 in terms of tensile strength, tensile modulus and heat resistance. The tensile modulus of NCH was twice that of Nylon 6, and the heat distortion temperature increased from 65°C for nylon 6 to 145°C for the NCH containing only 1.6 vol% of a clay mineral. It was found that such excellent properties of an NCH system was due to the strong ionic interaction between nylon 6 and the silicate layer.

A new automotive interior component material, TSOP-5 has been developed by refining the technology utilized to develop TSOP-1, the high modulus and high flow material for bumper covers. This new interior component material has excellent molding capability (MI=30dg/min.) yet still maintains high impact resistance which enables the material to be used in areas such as the dash board as well as trim covers requiring to meet the FMVSS 214, the new side impact regulation or the FMVSS 201, the new soft upper trim regulation.