Morphology and mechanical and viscoelastic properties of rubbery epoxy/organoclay montmorillonite nanocomposites

Abstract

The morphology and mechanical and viscoelastic properties of rubbery epoxy/organoclay montmorillonite (MMT) nanocomposites were investigated with wideangle X-ray scattering (WAXS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), tensile testing, and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis. An ultrasonicator was used to apply external shearing forces to disperse the silicate clay layers in the epoxy matrix. The first step of the nanocomposite preparation consisted of swelling MMT in a curing agent, that is, an aliphatic diamine based on a polyoxypropylene backbone with a low viscosity for better diffusion into the intragalleries. Then, the epoxy prepolymer was added to the mixture. Better dispersion and intercalation of the nanoclay in the matrix were expected. The organic modification of MMT with octadecylammonium ions led to an increase in the initial d-spacing (the [d 001 ] peak) from 14.4 to 28.5 Å , as determined by WAXS; this indicated the occurrence of an intercalation. The addition of 5 phr MMTC18 (MMT after the modification) to the epoxy matrix resulted in a finer dispersion, as evidenced by the disappearance of the diffraction peak in the WAXS pattern and TEM images. The mechanical and viscoelastic properties were improved for both MMT and MMTC18 nanocomposites, but they were more pronounced for the modified ones.

Study of morphological and mechanical performance of amine‐cured glassy epoxy–clay nanocomposites

“…For the epoxy thermoplastic systems, several studies were reported. Boukerrou et al22 obtained significant increases in both the stiffness and the energy at break on epoxy‐octadecylammonium modified MMT nanocomposites. The organophilic modification of clay affects the final morphology of nanocomposites on three levels.…”

Studies on mechanical characterization and water resistance of glass fiber/thermoplastic polymer bionanocomposites

“…It is well known that the nanoclay particles with very high aspect ratio can improve the modulus of the thermoplastic polymer. [16][17][18][19][20][22][23][24] The increment of the modulus depends on the morphology of nanocomposites. [24][25][26] The reinforcing efficiency of the nanofiller is balanced by two opposite phenomena.…”

Thermal, morphological, and X‐ray study of polymer‐clay nanocomposites

“…Different types of polymers used in association with MMT for development of nanocomposites are polystyrene,6 poly ( N ‐vinylcarbazole),7 and epoxy resins 8–12. Studies on phase morphology, mechanical, and viscoelastic properties of exfoliated epoxy/MMT nanocomposite have been reported 13, 14. Pelissou et al15 have described the electrical and thermal characterization of nanocomposites consisting of an epoxy matrix containing micrometric quartz and small amount of nanoclay.…”