Glass transition temperature versus structure of polyamide 6: A flash-DSC study

The glass transition temperature (T_g) is a crucial parameter for understanding the mechanical behavior of polyamide 6. It depends mainly on two aspects: hydration level and processing, i.e. the thermal history and the flow conditions. In this work, the effect of the thermal history on T_g was investigated by means of fast scanning calorimetry (flash-DSC). Two different solidification procedures were studied; isothermal crystallization and continuous cooling were performed at different temperatures and rates respectively. The procedures have led to two contradictory trends of glass transition evolutions when related to their crystallinity fraction. The concept of rigid amorphous phase is used. This is considered as a part of the amorphous phase with a lower mobility, present at the inter-phase between crystals and bulk amorphous (mobile amorphous fraction). The analysis leads to the conclusion that the thermal history affects the ratio between rigid and mobile amorphous phases and it is this ratio that determines the glass transition temperature of dry polyamide 6.