This work presents a method of industrially viable processing of nanocellulose‐reinforced polyamide 6 (PA 6). Cellulose nanocrystal (CNC)‐reinforced PA 6 is gaining attention as a promising material for use in the automotive industry due to its highly crystalline, low density, and environmentally friendly nature. However, the low‐thermal degradation temperature of CNCs presents problems when melt processing at high temperatures, making it difficult to produce the nanocomposite on a large scale. This article presents a methodology of master batching (MB) using planetary ball milling to embed the CNCs in PA 6. The process of MB CNCs with PA 6 to thermally buffer them was compared to direct milling and hand mixing, prior to melt processing with compression molding. The milled composites had final CNC compositions of either 5 or 10 wt%. Through thermal analysis, it was seen that although both milling methods thermally buffered the CNCs, the presence of the low‐molecular weight PA 6 in the MB samples resulted in higher thermal stability. In addition to this, the mechanical analysis showed that the MB samples with 5 wt% CNCs had optimum Young's moduli, ultimate tensile strength, and elongation % at break. Overall, the use of milling for MB to coat the CNCs in polymer is a promising alternative to traditional processes and has potential as a method of industrially manufacturing cellulose reinforced polymer composites.

中文翻译：

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用于熔融加工的聚酰胺6的预混纤维素纳米晶增强材料

这项工作提出了一种工业上可行的纳米纤维素增强聚酰胺6（PA 6）的加工方法。纤维素纳米晶体（CNC）增强的PA 6由于其高度结晶，低密度和环境友好的性质而成为有前途的材料，可在汽车工业中使用。但是，CNCs的低热降解温度在高温下进行熔融加工时会出现问题，从而难以大规模生产纳米复合材料。本文介绍了使用行星式球磨将CNC嵌入PA 6中的母料（MB）的方法。将具有PA 6的MB CNC进行热缓冲的MB CNC与直接铣削和手工混合相比，然后进行压缩熔融加工成型。研磨的复合材料的最终CNC成分为5或10 wt％。通过热分析，可以看出，尽管两种铣削方法都对CNC进行热缓冲，但MB样品中低分子量PA 6的存在导致更高的热稳定性。除此之外，机械分析表明，具有5 wt％CNCs的MB样品具有最佳的杨氏模量，极限拉伸强度和断裂伸长率。总体而言，使用MB铣削在聚合物中涂覆CNC涂层是传统工艺的有前途的替代方法，并且具有工业生产纤维素增强聚合物复合材料的潜力。力学分析表明，含5 wt％CNC的MB样品具有最佳的杨氏模量，极限拉伸强度和断裂伸长率。总体而言，使用MB铣削在聚合物中涂覆CNC涂层是传统工艺的有前途的替代方法，并且具有工业生产纤维素增强聚合物复合材料的潜力。力学分析表明，含5 wt％CNC的MB样品具有最佳的杨氏模量，极限拉伸强度和断裂伸长率。总体而言，使用MB铣削在聚合物中涂覆CNC涂层是传统工艺的有前途的替代方法，并且具有工业生产纤维素增强聚合物复合材料的潜力。