Influence of montmorillonite and film processing conditions on the morphology of polyamide 6: Effect on ethanol and toluene barrier properties

Nanocomposite films were prepared by cast extrusion using two chill-roll temperatures from polyamide 6 and an organo-modified montmorillonite. The impact of the nanoclay amount in the range from 0 to 1 wt%, as well as the processing conditions on the morphology and transport properties were investigated. The microstructure of the polymer highly depended on the films processing and the presence of the nanoclays. A detailed analysis of ethanol/toluene pervaporation properties was proposed for the all range of ethanol/toluene composition on the basis of thermodynamic and kinetic point of view. The transport mechanism was complex and resulted from a combination of different contributions involving the polymer–permeant and permeant–permeant interactions, the free-volume holes and the amount of γ phase in the crystalline part of the polymer. This study underlined the potentiality of using molecules differing in their interaction as an original way to probe the architecture of these systems.