Investigation of diffusion and cure kinetic in nanoclay-reinforced unsaturated polyester resin

The cure kinetics parameters of unsaturated polyester (UP) resin and unsaturated polyester resin containing 3 wt% Cloisite 10A (UP/10A) have been evaluated by three different kinetic approaches using non-isothermal differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) data. In the first method, dependence of activation energy, pre-exponential factor and reaction model on the degree of conversion has been calculated using an Advanced Integral Isoconversional method. In the second method, kinetic parameters of Kamal model and Chern diffusion factor have been computed using experimental data. In the third method, the Sbirrazzuoli diffusion factor kinetic parameters have been evaluated using the activation energy dependence on the degree of conversion. The results show that the addition of Cloisite 10A to UP resin causes the diffusion occurs earlier. According to the results, by adding nanoclay, activation energy and pre-exponential factor of chemical reaction and diffusion are decreased.