No CrossRef data available.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 February 2011
The primary objective of this study is to improve the thermal stability of clay and clay filled composite. An epoxy-clay composite has been prepared by dispersing 1-hexadecyl-3-(6-hydroxyhexyl)-2-methylimidazolium modified clay in an epoxy resin and cured with metaphenylene diamine (m-PDA) at 110.0 °C for 7 h and post cured at 140°C for 4 h. The thermal stability of the modified clay and clay filled epoxy composite was characterized via thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The onset decomposition temperature of the imidazolium functionalized clay was 360°C. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) of the composite showed mixed morphology with predominant fraction of intercalated clay platelets in the epoxy matrix. The onset decomposition temperature of the modified clay filled epoxy composite was found to be higher than that of pristine epoxy.