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Published on: September 19, 2020
Epoxy nanocomposites based on high temperature pyridinium-modified clays
Qingxin Zhang1, Kimiyoshi Naito, Ben Qi
1Coatings and Composites Center, National Institute for Materials Science, Sengen 1-2-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0047, Japan.
Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
|May 16, 2009
Summary
This study introduces pyridinium salt-modified clays for enhanced thermal stability in polymer nanocomposites. These novel materials exhibit improved thermal properties, overcoming limitations of traditional clay treatments for high-temperature applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Polymer Chemistry
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Traditional polymer/clay nanocomposites face thermal stability issues during high-temperature processing due to the decomposition of common alkyl ammonium treated clays.
- This limits their application in demanding thermal environments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop polymer/clay nanocomposites with improved thermal stability.
- To investigate the use of aromatic pyridinium salts for modifying clay properties.
- To characterize the thermal and structural properties of the resulting nanocomposites.
Main Methods:
- Modification of clays using an aromatic pyridinium salt.
- Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) to assess thermal stability (onset degradation temperature Td(onset), maximum decomposition temperature Td(max)).
- Synthesis of epoxy/clay nanocomposites using diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) and diethyltoluene diamine (DETDA).
- Characterization of nanocomposite morphology using wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).
Main Results:
- Pyridinium salt-modified clays demonstrated significantly enhanced thermal stability, with Td(onset) up to 310°C and Td(max) up to 457°C.
- Intercalated structures were observed in the synthesized epoxy/clay nanocomposites.
- Incorporation of modified clays increased the storage modulus of the epoxy but decreased its glass transition temperature (Tg).
Conclusions:
- Aromatic pyridinium salt modification offers a viable route to enhance the thermal stability of clays for nanocomposite fabrication.
- The modified clays facilitate the formation of intercalated structures in epoxy matrices.
- Further investigation is needed to understand and potentially optimize the observed decrease in glass transition temperature.
