Effect of Glass Fiber and Mineral Filler Reinforcement on the Dielectric Relaxation and Structural Dynamics of PA6 Hybrid Composites

Abstract

ABSTRACT PA6 (Polyamide 6) hybrid composites (20% glass fiber (GF) and 20% mineral filler mixture of talc and CaCO 3 ) are studied using dielectric spectroscopy (DS) to determine dielectric and structural properties, and to highlight the effect of the reinforcement, filler material (glass fiber, talc, and CaCO 3 mixture), and thickness. FT‐IR and SEM characterization techniques are applied to reveal molecular and morphological structure. Dielectric measurements are performed over a temperature range of 223–373 K and a frequency interval of 1–10 6 Hz. Dielectric and structural parameters have been analyzed by Cole‐Cole and Vogel‐Fulcher‐Tamman (VFT) models, respectively, for sample thicknesses of 0.2, 0.75, and 2.5 mm. The results reveal the Maxwell‐Wagner‐Sillars (MWS), α ‐, β ‐, and γ ‐relaxations. Besides, and are defined to emphasize the effect of moisture absorption. It is detected that reinforcement increased the glass transition temperature () related to the unplasticization effect by 20 and 40 K for varying thicknesses. values obtained from the electric modulus () and the AC conductivity mechanism are consistent with each other. FT‐IR analysis and SEM images confirm the effect of fillers on moisture absorption and filler incorporation, respectively.