Clay nanostructure and its localisation in an epoxy/liquid rubber blend
Abstract
Different nanoclay concentrations (1–3 phr) were incorporated into an epoxy/carboxyl terminated poly(butadiene-co-acrylonitrile) liquid rubber (CTBN) blend to obtain epoxy/clay/CTBN nanocomposites. Morphological analysis (X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy techniques) of epoxy/clay/CTBN nanocomposites revealed that the clay platelets were largely exfoliated at lower (1 phr) clay concentration. This highly exfoliated portion of the clay platelets was found to easily get inside the CTBN phase during the reaction induced phase separation process in 1 phr clay loaded epoxy/clay/CTBN nanocomposite. However, the intercalated clay platelets in epoxy/clay/CTBN nanocomposites with higher (2, 3 phr) clay concentration, locate in epoxy phase with a tendency to align along the epoxy–CTBN interface which suppresses the coalescence of the rubber particles during phase separation. It was found that the clay nanostructure and localisation among the blend components affect both viscoelastic and mechanical properties of the epoxy/clay/CTBN nanocomposites. The quantitative estimation of constrained epoxy volume confirmed the morphological findings. The thermal degradation behavior of the epoxy/clay/CTBN nanocomposites was found to depend mainly on the dispersion of clay rather than its distribution among the blend components.
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