Thermal and mechanical behavior of innovative melt-blown fabrics based on polyamide nanocomposites

A commercial organo-modified clay (OMC) was added to a polyamide 6 (PA6) matrix at various concentrations during the polymerization stage or by melt compounding in a twin-screw extruder, and the resulting pellets were used for the production of depth filters in the shape of cylindrical nonwoven webs through a melt-blown process. The processability of the investigated materials was significantly affected by nanofiller introduction. Differential scanning calorimetry revealed that OMCs play a nucleating effect on the crystallization of the polyamide matrix, with a remarkable increase in the crystallization temperature on cooling from the melt. Consequently, a parameter related to the filtering performances of the web, such as the pressure drop (P) evaluated on cylindrical filters, decreased with the increase in die-to-collector distance in a more pronounced way for nanocomposite nonwovens. This behavior was related to the significant decrease of the connecting points in the networks due to the rapid cooling of the filaments on the collecting mandrel. Compressive mechanical tests evidenced how organoclay addition led to a remarkable increase of the rigidity of the web, when the data were compared at the same P value, irrespectively from the preparation technique.