Effects of Clay Nanoparticles on the Mechanical and Physical Properties of Unsaturated Polyester

摘要

This work is focused on the study of composites obtained by addition of natural clay particles, crude or ground, to unsaturated polyester (UP) matrix. The influence of these particles on mechanical and physical properties of such nanocomposites has been analyzed. It was observed that a high-energy mechanical milling increases the clay interlayer spaces, which suggests that the exfoliation degree of such particles can increase when added to a UP matrix. Adding clays to a matrix up to 1% wt leads to a significant enhancement of the Young modulus and hardness of this matrix. However, fracture strength and fracture elongation of nanocomposite decrease continuously with raise of clay content. Thermal tests revealed an increase of the glass transition temperature and degradation temperature of the material, while the thermal expansion coefficient decreases with the proportion of clay particles. The water absorption capacity of the UP matrix does not seem to be affected by the presence of the clay layers when these ones before being milled.