Strengthening and toughening effects of layered double hydroxide and hyperbranched polymer on epoxy resin

The effects of organically modified layered double hydroxide (O-LDH) and epoxy functionalized hyperbranched aliphatic polyester (E1), on the mechanical strength, thermal property and toughness of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) epoxy resin were studied in detail. The crystalline structure and morphology of the nanocomposites composed of DGEBA/O-LDH and DGEBA/E1/O-LDH were investigated by wide angle X-ray diffraction analysis and transmission electron microscopy observation. Both results showed that the LDH nanosheets were sufficiently exfoliated and randomly dispersed in the epoxy matrix. The thermal and mechanical properties were compared with the corresponding neat polymer matrix. The enhancement in strength and toughness was achieved by the addition of O-LDH and E1, respectively, and confirmed in terms of fracture surface analysis by scanning electron microscopy.