Effect of Electron Beam Irradiation on Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Polyamide Copolymer/Multiwall Carbon Nanotube Composites

Ternary polyamide(tPA) copolymer is susceptible to degradation when it is irradiated by electron beam(e-beam), and effective methods to avoid degradation and increase gel content are highly desirable for crosslinking.Carboxylated multiwall carbon nanotube(MWCNT) is modified by hydroxyethyl acrylate(HEA) in this paper and used as a co-agent for the e-beam irradiation crosslinking of tPA copolymer. HEA modified MWCNT can function as an effective co-agent for the e-beam irradiation crosslinking of tPA copolymer to increase the gel content and improve the mechanical properties of tPA copolymer. Under an irradiation of 160 kGy, addition of 2 parts per hundred(phr) HEA modified MWCNT into tPA copolymer can increase the gel content of tPA copolymer from about 20% to 40%(mass ratio) and increase the tensile strength from 45 to 59 MPa. The irradiation also affects the glass transition temperature of tPA copolymer by increasing the gel content. The results show that HEA modified MWCNT can act as a nucleating agent to increase the crystallization temperature, melting temperature and crystallinity of tPA copolymer.