Fabrication and mechanical properties of exfoliated clay–CNTs/epoxy nanocomposites

An effective method was used to make clay exfoliated successfully. This modified clay hybrid (denoted as E-MMT) was directly used as a filler to improve the mechanical properties of the polymer. E-MMT/epoxy nanocomposites were prepared through an in situ polymerization process. It was found that the Vicker's hardness and the impact intensity of nanocomposites increased effectively. Compared with the pristine epoxy, the Vicker's hardness and impact strength of the 1 wt.% E-MMT/epoxy nanocomposites were greatly improved by 36.4% and 110%, respectively. The mechanisms of the significant improvements were also discussed.