Study on intercalation and exfoliation behavior of organoclays in epoxy resin

Intercalation and exfoliation behavior of organoclays in epoxy resin has be en studied through XRD and DSC. It was found that the organoclays were easi ly intercalated by epoxy oligomer to form a stable epoxy/clay intercalated hybrid. Under appropriate conditions the clays were able to be further exfo liated as the epoxy resin was cured; thus, a nanocomposite was obtained. It was also found that the exfoliating ability of the organoclays was basical ly determined by the nature of the clays and the curing agent used. The exf oliation mechanism is discussed in this paper. (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.