Characterization of Polyamide 6/Superfine Silk Powder Blend Films
Superfine silk powder (SSP) was blended and extruded with polyamide 6 (PA6) to produce blend pellets, and the extruded pellets were hot-pressed into blend films. The average particle size of the SSP was 3.5 μm. SEM photographs of blend films showed that SSP was uniformly distributed in the PA6 matrix and was compatible with it. ATR-FTIR and WXRD results showed that the addition of SSP favoured the formation of γ-monoclinic crystals of PA6 in the blend films. DSC patterns indicated the nucleating ability of SSP, which accelerated the crystallization process of the PA6 matrix. The mechanical properties of the blend films decreased somewhat, compared with that of pure PA6 film. K/S curves indicated that the dying properties were dependent on SSP content. It was worth noting that the K/S value of blend films containing 50 wt.% SSP at the wavelength of 510 nm achieved an increase of 461% compared with that of pure PA6 film.