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Bio-based epoxy clay nanocomposites

Abstract:

The present research focuses on the development of a new family of bio-epoxy clay nanocomposite for coatings and other high performance applications and describes the degree of clay dispersion, curing kinetics, and mechanical properties associated with these formulations. The epoxy matrix consisted of a commercial sorbitol glycidyl ether (SGE) epoxy resin cured with one of three polyamines - two polyetheramines (one based on poly(ethylene oxide), PEO, the other based on poly(propylene oxide), PPO), and one aliphatic polyamine (triethylenetetraamine, TETA) - and reinforced with organically modified montmorillonite (OMMT) nanoclay. The degree of OMMT dispersion was assessed via x-ray diffraction (XRD). The SGE/PEO and SGE/TETA systems gave shorter gel times compared to the SGE/PPO system as observed by viscosity measurements, consistent with relative differences in amine hydrogen equivalent weight. Epoxy conversion was followed via near-IR (NIR) spectroscopy. The addition of OMMT to the SGE/TETA system gave a larger increase in mechanical properties compared to the other epoxy formulations. Based on the results of these evaluations, it is concluded that SGE/polyamine systems show promise as aliphatic epoxy nanocomposite networks for green coatings and high performance applications.