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Epoxy‐montmorillonite clay nanocomposites: Synthesis and characterization
Author(s) -
Nigam Vineeta,
Setua D. K.,
Mathur G. N.,
Kar Kamal K.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.20736
Subject(s) - montmorillonite , organoclay , diglycidyl ether , thermogravimetric analysis , materials science , epoxy , curing (chemistry) , thermal stability , differential scanning calorimetry , nanocomposite , polymer chemistry , exfoliation joint , bisphenol a , intercalation (chemistry) , composite material , chemical engineering , chemistry , organic chemistry , graphene , physics , nanotechnology , thermodynamics , engineering
Nanocomposites of epoxy resin with montmorillonite clay were synthesized by swelling of different proportions of the clay in a diglycidyl ether of bisphenol‐A followed by in situ polymerization with aromatic diamine as a curing agent. The montmorillonite was modified with octadecylamine and made organophilic. The organoclay was found to be intercalated easily by incorporation of the epoxy precursor and the clay galleries were simultaneously expanded. However, Na‐montmorillonite clay could not be intercalated during the mixing or through the curing process. Curing temperature was found to provide a balance between the reaction rate of the epoxy precursor and the diffusion rate of the curing agent into the clay galleries. The cure kinetics were studied by differential scanning calorimetry. The exfoliation behavior of the organoclay system was investigated by X‐ray diffraction. Thermogravimetric analysis was used to determine the thermal stability, which was correlated with the ionic exchange between the organic species and the silicate layers. The morphology of the nanocomposites was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 93: 2201–2210, 2004