Cure Behavior of Epoxy Resin-Montmorillonite-2-Ethyl-4-Methylimidazole Nanocomposite

Understanding of the mechanism and kinetics of cure for polymer-layered silicate nanocomposites is now the interest of research. The objective of this investigation is to determine the effects of polymer-layered silicate on the cure kinetics of an epoxy resin. The cure process of epoxy resin-organo-montmorillonite (Org-MMT)-2-ethyl-4-methylimidazole (2,4-EMI) nanocomposite with different Org-MMT loadings was in situ monitored with a technique of dynamic torsional vibration method (DTVM) in the isothermal mode. The gel time tg and the completed cure time tc can be read directly from the isothermal cure curve, and the results show that the addition of Org-MMT reduces the tg and increases the rate of curing reaction. The apparent activation energy Ea of cure reaction was estimated by the nonequilibrium thermodynamic fluctuation theory as well. With increasing of cure temperature, the tg decreased and correspondingly, the cure rate was accelerated. In addition, the theoretical prediction was in good agreement with the experimental results obtained by DTVM.