Synthesis of Reinforced Polyacrylate and Polyepoxide Polymers

Nanocomposite polymers have drawn increased attention over the two last decades because of their distinct characteristics in particular superior mechanical and barrier properties.In this paper we present our results on the synthesis and the biodegradability of nanocomposite materials, made of silicate platelets (montmorillonite and beidellite) dispersed in a crosslinked polyurethane –acrylate and polyepoxide matrix. The compatibility polymer-clay has been optimized by surface modification of clay. The treatment of clay was confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction.The nanocomposite materials were synthetized by photoinduced polymerization (UV lamp and solar UV).The study of curing kinetics obtained show that the addition of organophilic clay has little effect on the conversion of acrylates while in the epoxyde, the effect is more pronounced because a some of the protons generated by the photo-initiator is neutralized by the negative charges dispersed onto clay surface.The polymer nanocomposites obtained are transparent, slightly or insoluble in organic solvents.Moreover we have demonstrated that the polyurethane –acrylate is biodegradable and the intimate association of the reinforcement and the organic matrix at the molecular level decrease this biodegradability.