Rapid preparation of epoxy acrylate-clay nanocomposite: Simultaneous acrylation/nanoclay dispersion under ultrasonication

The main theme of the present study was to prepare the epoxy acrylate-clay nanocomposite through the simultaneously acrylation reaction of epoxy resin and dispersion of clay nanoparticles under ultrasonic irradiation. The acrylation of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A epoxy resin was carried out through the reaction with acrylic acid in the presence of different nanoclays. In addition to UV-curing agents, two different types of commercial organoclays namely, Cloisite 15A and Cloisite 30B were used in nanocomposite films. The degree of epoxy acrylation and the UV-curing process of nanocomposite films were monitored by the corresponding absorption bands in FTIR spectroscopy. The degree of epoxy acrylation reached up to 85% for 30 min ultrasonication with a rather good degree of dispersion for both organoclays as evidenced in XRD patterns and SEM and TEM micrographs. The comparative study of different UV-cured nanocomposites films were carried out by means of different thermal and mechanical test such as DSC, TGA, DMTA and the surface hardness. The significant improvements in glass transition temperature and the thermal stability of different nanocomposites were attributed mainly to effective interactions between clay platelets and epoxy acrylate chains which result in proper dispersion of clay platelets.