Cure behavior of epoxy resin/montmorillonite/imidazole nanocomposite by dynamic torsional vibration method

Flory’s gelation theory, the non-equilibrium thermodynamic fluctuation theory and the Avrami equation have been used to predict the cure behavior of epoxy resin/organo-montmorillonite (Org-MMT)/imidazole intercalated nanocomposites at various temperatures and Org-MMT loadings. The theoretical prediction is in good agreement with the experimental results obtained by a dynamic torsional vibration method. The results show that the addition of Org-MMT reduces the gelation time t_g and increases the rate of the curing reaction, the value of the kinetic constant k. The half-time t_1/2 of cure after the gel point decreases with increasing of cure temperature, and the value of n is around 3 at lower temperature (<90 °C) and decreases to ∼2 as the temperature increases. The addition of Org-MMT has no obvious effect on the apparent activation energy of the cure reaction. There is no special curing process required for the formation of an epoxy resin/Org-MMT/imidazole intercalated nanocomposite.