Monitoring the curing process of epoxy resin nanocomposites based on organo-montmorillonite – a new application of resin curemeter

Abstract Curing of a resin system is the critical and productivity controlling step in the fabrication of thermosetting matrix composites including nanocomposites. In the past few years, in the case of polymer-layered silicate nanocomposites, too many interests were taken in the material structure and properties, while only a few researches were carried on the cure behavior of this type of nanocomposite. The goal of the present work pays mainly attention to the cure kinetics for epoxy resin/organo-montmorillonite (Org-MMT)/2-ethyl-4-methyl-imidazole (2,4-EMI) nanocomposites. The experiments of monitoring curing process of nanocomposite materials are successively made via the HLX-II Resin Curemeter. The results derived from the non-equilibrium thermodynamic fluctuation theory indicated that the theoretical prediction is in good agreement with the experimental cure curve. The apparent activation energies were evaluated based on the gel time, t g and relaxation time, τ , respectively. The increasing of cure temperature accelerated the cross-linking reactions for either nanocomposites or pure epoxy system. The addition of Org-MMT reduces the gel time, t g as well as the completed cure time, t c , and increases the rate of cure.