Abstract
In this work, we employed the casting procedure to synthesize polymer hybrids from epoxy with acrylic polymer coating with nanoclay. The investigated polymer hybrid was composed of 80% epoxy resin, 17% acrylic polymer solution, and 3% nanoclay. The polymer hybrid samples were ranged in thickness from 1 to 3 mm. The influence of the sample’s thickness on thermal stability, thermal conductivity, and mechanical properties, as well as the constant angle of polymer hybrids were examined. The structural investigation revealed that the loaded nanocaly is crystalline with an average crystal size of 56 nm inside the amorphous polymer matrix. Also, it consistently dispersed throughout the epoxy matrix, showing that the tiny nanoparticles were meant to agglomerate with one another. The maximum thermal stability was found in polymer hybrids with a thickness of 2 mm, and the contact angle was closed to 90° for polymer hybrids with a thickness of 1.5 mm. The hardness values were remained constant around 73 ± 1 and were unaffected by sample’s thickness. Meanwhile, increasing the polymer hybrid's thickness slightly improves the impact and flexural strength values. The anticipated value of the wear rate was slightly changed while increasing with applied force. As the thickness of the synthesized polymer hybrids was rose from 1 to 3 mm, the thermal conductivity was fell from 0.47 to 0.32 W/m K. The synthesized hybrid epoxy and acrylic polymer coating/nanoclay was exhibit significant thermal and mechanical stability, as well as hydrophobicity, and hence may be employed for floor painting and waterproofing applications.