Abstract: Polyamide 6 (PA6)/rare earth composites were prepared by a melt-blending method, and their structure and properties were investigated by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, powder X-ray diffraction, etc. The results indicated that there was no chemical interaction between PA6 and rare earth, and rare earth only acted as heterogeneous nucleating agents to promote the formation of γ-form crystals but to hinder the growth of α-form crystals. Both the crystallinity and crystallization temperature of PA6 domain in the composites were higher than those of pure PA6. The tensile strength of PA6/rare earth composites decreased slightly with increasing content of rare earth, while the elongation at break increased first and then decreased. When 6 wt% of rare earth was added into PA6, the elongation at break reached 328.25 %. The initial light intensity of the composites increased with increasing content of rare earth, and their light intensity presented a typical exponential attenuation.

Key words: polyamide 6, rare earth, crystallization behavior, luminescent property