Cure and thermal degradation kinetics of epoxy/organoclay nanocomposite

Abstract

Epoxy nanocomposite was synthesized through the exfoliation of organoclay in an epoxy matrix, which was composed of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA), 4,4'-methylene dianiline (MDA) and malononitrile (MN). Organoclay was prepared by treating the montmorillonite with octadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (ODTMA). The exfoliation of the organoclay was estimated by wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) analysis. In order to measure the cure rate of DGEBA/MDA (30 phr)/MN (5 phr)/organoclay (3 phr), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis was performed at various heating rates, and the data were interpreted by Kissinger equation. Thermal degradation kinetics of the epoxy nanocomposite were studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and the data were introduced to the Ozawa equation. The activation energy for cure reaction was 45.8 kJ/mol, and the activation energy for thermal degradation was 143 kJ/mol. © 2012 KIEEME.