Synthesis and properties of epoxy resin-based acrylated poly (ester-amide)s/silane tailored organo-montmorillonite nanocomposites

Abstract

Epoxy resin-based unsaturated poly(ester-amide) (UPEA) resins can be prepared by many methods, but in this study, these resins were prepared by the reported method and further acrylation was carried out using acryloyl chloride. Organo-montmorillonite was treated with 3-amino-propyltrimethoxysilane. Nanocomposites composed of UPEA matrix and organically modified clay filler were prepared by hand lay-up. The flexural property of the nanocomposites were determined, and it was found that adding only 3% w/w organically modified clay improved the flexural modulus of UPEA by 35%. Nanocomposites were characterized by x-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry and scanning electron microscopy.