Mechanical behavior of organo-modified Indian bentonite nanoclay fiber-reinforced plastic nanocomposites

The aim of the research was to examine the influence of organo-modified Indian bentonite (IB) nanoclay dispersed in vinylester on the mechanical properties of nanoclay/vinylester/glass nanocomposites. Nanoclay was organically modified using cationic surfactant hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTMA-Br) by cation exchange method and dispersed in vinylester using ultrasonication and twin screw extrusion. XRD of nanoclay/vinylester revealed exfoliation at 4 wt.% nanoclay indicating uniform dispersion in the polymer. DSC results showed improvement in glass transition temperature by 22.3% in 4 wt.% nanoclay/vinylester/glass when compared with that of vinylester/glass. Nanoclay/vinylester/glass with 4 wt.% nanoclay showed 29.23%, 23.84% and 60.87% improvement in ultimate tensile strength (UTS), flexural strength (FS) and interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) respectively when compared with those of vinylester/glass. The mode of tensile failure examined by SEM showed no agglomeration of nanoclay in 4 wt.% nanoclay/vinylester/glass specimens.