Development of highly transparent UV‐curable nylon 6 nanofiber‐reinforced polyurethane acrylate nanocomposite coatings for pre‐coated metals

• Published in: Journal of applied polymer science Vol. 138; no. 26
• Main Authors: Gavande, Vishal, Im, Donghyeok, Lee, Won‐Ki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 10.07.2021; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Coatings; composites; electrospinning; Materials science; Mechanical properties; Morphology; Nanocomposites; Nanofibers; Nylon 6; Polymers; Polyurethane resins; Reinforcement; Tensile strength; Thin films; Wetting
• ISSN: 0021-8995; 1097-4628
• DOI: 10.1002/app.50614

The aim of this study is the development of the UV‐curable polyurethane acrylate‐based transparent nanocomposite by using electrospun nylon 6 nanofibers as reinforcement. To accomplish the perfect embedment of nylon 6 nanofibers, over‐coating is the leading advantage on account of the ultrafast wetting and chemical interaction with the UV‐curable PUA matrix system. The remarkable properties of nylon 6 nanofibers offer the use of a very tiny amount of nanofibers as reinforcement in developing nanocomposites, which allowed a significant improvement of the mechanical properties. We developed optically transparent and flexible nanocomposite films and coatings based on casting, electrospinning, and UV‐curing. The reinforcement of nanofibers in the nanocomposites maintains 89%–93% optical transmittance in the visible light range with remarkable enhancement of the tensile strength by 85% for 240 min nanofiber deposition in nanocomposite films. The annexed results generated much consideration and proved that the embedment of nylon 6 nanofibers leads to a wide range of applications for pre‐coated metals. The morphologies of the nanofibers and properties of the thin film composites were also investigated. The potential utilization of nanofibers as a reinforcement and the fabrication of a nanocomposite along with its characterization comparably to the UV‐cured polyurethane acrylate film are also discussed. A novel method is developed for the potential use of nylon 6 nanofibers as reinforcement for highly transparent and flexible nanocomposite films as well as coatings, and that accounts for enhancement in the mechanical properties.