Abstract
Herein, vermiculite clay is used as a reinforcement for epoxy resin, which is pretreated with HCl and functionalized with an organosilane. The functional vermiculite nanoparticles (0-10 mass %) are embedded into epoxy resin, and the mixture is subsequently cured with a diamine to yield highly crosslinked vermiculite-epoxy nanocomposites. These nanocomposites are characterized by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The curing of epoxy resin with diamine monomer and the inclusion of vermiculite nanoparticles are confirmed by FTIR spectra, SEM micrographs, and X-ray diffraction patterns. The surface morphology examined by SEM exhibits well exfoliation of VMT clay in the epoxy matrix. The extent of curing and glass transition temperatures (T-g) are measured from DSC scans. The functional vermiculite nanoparticles demonstrate the hindrance effect by impeding the curing process. However, T-g of vermiculite-epoxy nanocomposites is increased significantly as compared to the neat epoxy polymer.