Thermal stability and degradation of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A epoxy modified with different nanoclays exposed to UV radiation

The primary focus of this study was to evaluate the effects of different montmorillonite nanoclays (MMT) on the thermal stability and degradation of epoxy composites exposed to UV radiation and elevated temperatures. Diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) epoxy resin, SC15 was reinforced with three different montmorillonite nanoclays, Nanomer® I.28E, Cloisite® 10A and Cloisite® 30B. Thermal properties of modified DGEBA nanocomposites were characterized. Subsequently, neat and nanocomposites were subjected to 500 h of UV radiation and characterized to determine the effects of various nanoclays on the degradation. Addition of nanoclays increased the thermal properties compared to the unmodified composite and better retention of material properties after exposure to UV radiation. Viscoelastic properties increased with addition of nanoclays in both unexposed and UV radiation exposed samples.