Organo-modified mesoporous carbon FDU-15 as new nanofiller for the preparation of nanocomposite materials based on nylon-6.

Porous carbon materials have been contributing to many areas of modern science and technology owing to their high specific surface area, large pore volume, and good electric and thermal conductivity, as well as mechanical and chemical stability. In this study, mesoporous carbon FDU-15 was modified with 3-mercaptopropyl-trimethoxysilane by ultrasonic irradiation. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns show that mesoporous FDU-15 has a highly ordered hexagonal mesostructure and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images verify the presence of large pores and a relatively ordered mesostructure for the functionalized materials. Different amount of modified FDU-15 (1, 2 and 3 wt. %) were used as reinforcing agent for the preparation of nylon-6/FDU nanocomposites. The obtained hybrid materials were characterized by Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, XRD, field emission-scanning electron microscopy, and TEM techniques. Thermogravimetric analysis data show that the onset of decomposition temperature of the nanocomposites was higher than that of pristine nylon-6, shifting toward higher temperatures as the amount of modified-FDU was increased. TEM images show well-ordered hexagonal arrays of mesopores and the average distances between neighboring pores is around 3-5 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]