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

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, tg 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, tg as well as the completed cure time, tc, and increases the rate of cure.