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Thermoplastic resin transfer molding of carbon fiber reinforced polyamide 6 composite with the improved processability using zeolite particle

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Abstract

Thermoplastic resin transfer molding (T-RTM) of polyamide 6-based composite is one of the promising process to mass-produce an environmentally friendly textile composite with recyclable thermoplastic resin, in which ε-caprolactam monomer with low viscosity is injected and in situ polymerized into the fabric. The side reactions caused by water in the anionic polymerization process of the monomer is a crucial problem for fabricating the composite with a high quality. In this study, we introduced zeolite, a porous ceramic water-absorbing particle, into the ε-caprolactam to improve the moisture sensitivity during the anionic polymerization. The selective water-absorbing effect of zeolite particle was verified by measuring the monomer conversion, viscosity-average molecular weight, and viscosity change during polymerization, and mechanical properties of the resultant carbon fiber reinforced polyamide composite were investigated. It is expected that processability of the T-RTM is remarkably improved by reducing both the drying time during process and quality deviation of the composite by variation of humidity, which can make T-RTM process a viable technology for mass-production of thermoplastic composites.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Principal Research Program (PNK9030, PNK9370) in the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS) and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) Grant funded by the Basic Science Research Program (2018R1D1A1B07045211).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemical Engineering, Pusan National University, Busandaehak-Ro 63Beon-Gil 2, Geumjeong-Gu, Busan, 46241, Republic of Korea

    Jae Hyo Lee, Seung Mo Son, Jung Jae Yoo & Dong Gi Seong

  2. Composites Research Division, Korea Institute of Materials Science, 797 Changwondaero, Seongsan-Gu, Changwon, Gyeongnam, 51508, Republic of Korea

    Sang Woo Kim & Jin Woo Yi

  3. Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Pusan National University, Busandaehak-Ro 63Beon-Gil 2, Geumjeong-Gu, Busan, 46241, Republic of Korea

    Dong Gi Seong

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  1. Jae Hyo Lee
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Correspondence to Dong Gi Seong.

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Lee, J.H., Son, S.M., Yoo, J.J. et al. Thermoplastic resin transfer molding of carbon fiber reinforced polyamide 6 composite with the improved processability using zeolite particle. Korea-Aust. Rheol. J. 35, 39–45 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13367-023-00051-4

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