Nanolayer Ordering in an Epoxy-Exfoliated Clay Hybrid Composite

Abstract

A new class of epoxy-clay nanocomposites have been prepared from alkylammonium exchanged fluorohectorite clays. These nanocomposites have usually large and regular basal spacings up to 105 {angstrom} platelet separation. The extra large separation of the clay nanolayers results in reinforcement of the polymer matrix, the reinforcing effect being comparable to that of disordered phased nanocomposites. It is now possible to define two general classes of exfoliated clay nanocomposites, namely those with long range nanolayer ordering, and those with little or no long range ordering. Long range ordering is indicated by the XRD patterns that have multiple 00l harmonies whereas disordered composites exhibit little or no 00l diffraction. Regardless of the presence of X-ray Bragg diffraction, exfoliated polymer-clay nanocomposites form when adjacent clay nanolayers are separated by a distance that precludes the possibility of interlayer communication through the association of galleries cations.