Promotion of the γ-phase of polyamide 6 in its nanocomposite with phosphate glass

The effect of tin fluorophosphate-glass (Pglass) nanoparticles on the polyamide-6 (PA6) matrix in Pglass/PA6 hybrids has been investigated by ¹³C solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The crystallinity determined by direct-polarization ¹³C NMR combined with longitudinal relaxation-time (T₁C) filtering varied between 31 and 44%. T₁C-filtered ¹³C spectra with cross polarization clearly showed resonances of both the α- and γ-crystalline phases of PA6, typically at ratios near 45:55, while the similarly processed neat polymer contained only the α-phase. This suggests that the Pglass promotes the growth of the γ-crystalline phase.