Tribological performance and thermal behavior of epoxy resin nanocomposites containing polyurethane and organoclay

A series of epoxy resin nanocomposites modified by polyurethane and organically modified montmorillonite was prepared by effectively dispersing the organically modified montmorillonite in interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) of epoxy and polyurethane via the sequential polymeric technique and in situ polymerization. The tribological performance of the resultant EP/PU nanocomposites was investigated by a pin‐on‐disc tester, and the results showed that adding polyurethane and organically modified clay to the EP matrix had a synergistic effect on improving tribological performance of EP/PU nanocomposites. The morphologies of the worn surface were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations, and the results indicated that the mechanism of improving tribological performance of EP/PU nanocomposites was different from that of pure EP or pure EP/PU IPNs. The thermal behavior of these nanocomposites was also investigated by thermogravimeric analysis (TGA), and the results indicated that adding organically modified clay to the matrix remedied the deterioration of the thermal degradation temperature of the interpenetrating networks. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.