• Dobrosielska, Marta
• Martyla, Agnieszka
• Kozera, Paulina
• Kurzydłowski, Krzysztof J.
• Brząkalski, Dariusz
• Dobrucka, Renata
• Przekop, Robert
• Gabriel, Ewa

Abstract

<jats:p>Amorphic diatomaceous earth is derived from natural sources, and polyamide 11 (PA11) is produced from materials of natural origin. Both of these materials show a low harmfulness to the environment and a reduced carbon footprint. This is why the combination of these two constituents is beneficial not only to improve the physicochemical and mechanical properties of polyamide 11 but also to produce a biocomposite. For the purpose of this paper, the test biocomposite was produced by combining polyamide 11, as well as basic and pre-fractionated diatomaceous earth, which had been subjected to silanization. The produced composites were used to carry out rheological (melt flow rate-MFR), mechanical (tensile strength, bending strength, impact strength), crystallographic (X-ray Diffraction-XRD), thermal and thermo-mechanical (differential scanning calorimetry–DSC, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis–DMTA) analyses, as well as a study of hydrophobic–hydrophilic properties of the material surface (wetting angle) and imaging of the surface of the composites and the fractured specimens. The tests showed that the additive 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) acted as an agent that improved the elasticity of composites and the melt flow rate. In addition, the produced composites showed a hydrophilic surface profile compared to pure polylactide and polyamide 11.</jats:p>

Topics

• impedance spectroscopy
• surface
• Carbon
• x-ray diffraction
• melt
• strength
• composite
• elasticity
• differential scanning calorimetry
• tensile strength
• crystallization
• atom probe tomography