Comparative studies for the effect of intercalating agent on the physical properties of epoxy resin-clay based nanocomposite materials

In this study, a series of comparative studies for the effect of intercalating agent on the physical properties of the epoxy resin-clay based nanocomposite materials were performed. First, the quaternary alkylphosphonium and alkylammonium salt were both used as the intercalating agents separately for the preparation of organophilic clay through the cationic exchange reactions with Na⁺-montmorillonite clay. Subsequently, the organophilic clay was blent into the epoxy resin through in-situ thermal ring-opening polymerizations to prepare a series of polymer-clay nanocomposite (PCN) materials. The as-synthesized PCN materials were subsequently characterized by Fourier-Transformation infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, wide-angle powder X-ray diffraction (WXRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).It should be noted that the quaternary alkylphosphonium salt (Φ₃P⁺-C₁₂)-modified clay was found to show better dispersion capability than that of quaternary alkylammonium salt (Me₃N⁺-C₁₆)-modified clay existed in the polymer matrix based on the studies of WXRD and TEM. The better dispersion of (Φ₃P⁺-C₁₂)-modified clay in epoxy resin was found to lead more effectively enhanced physical property such as corrosion protection, gas barrier, mechanical strength, thermal stability, and flame retardant properties of polymers than that of (Me₃N⁺-C₁₆)-modified clay, in the form of coating and membrane, based on the measurements of a series of electrochemical corrosion parameters, gas permeability analysis (GPA), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and limiting oxygen index (LOI), respectively. Effect of material composition on the physical properties of as-prepared materials was also investigated.