Effect of temperature, duration and speed of pre-mixing on the dispersion of clay/epoxy nanocomposites

The effect of temperature, duration and speed of pre-mixing on the dispersion of organoclay in epoxy was studied. The technique of high-speed mixing process was used. Epoxy and Cloisite 30B were pre-mixed at different temperatures, different speeds and for different durations of time. The quality of dispersion and intercalation/exfoliation of organoclay in epoxy after pre-mixing (before adding hardener) was analyzed by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and viscosity measurement. The dispersion and intercalation/exfoliation of organoclay in the epoxy nanocomposites (ENCs) after curing were characterized by XRD, field emission gun scanning electron microscopy (FEGSEM) and TEM. The results illustrate that the clay particles were broken down to smaller and smaller sizes with increase of pre-mixing temperature and especially with increase in pre-mixing speed. These parameters do not significantly affect the intercalation/exfoliation of organoclay in epoxy at the pre-mixing step, but they have indirect effect on intercalation/exfoliation at the curing step.