Synthesis and Characterization of Soy-Based Nanocomposites

Abstract

Soy-based nanocomposites were synthesized using soy resin and montmorillonite clay. Two types of dispersion techniques, pneumatic and sonication, were carried out to disperse the nanoclay into the soy-based epoxy resin. Tensile testing of the nanocomposites showed that the nanoclay improved the modulus and the strength by 625% and 340%, respectively. Exfoliation of the nanoclay was investigated by X-ray diffraction. The curing mechanism of soy epoxy resin with different amounts of montmorillonite was studied using differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Rheological measurements were also conducted to find the suitability of using the soy-based epoxy clay nanocomposites toward composite manufacturing applications. The dielectric constant and the loss factor were also investigated. These soy-based nanocomposites hold great promise as environmentally friendly and low cost materials for structural applications.

Department(s)

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Keywords and Phrases

Montmorillonite Clay; Nanocomposites; Soy Resin

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0021-9983

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2007 SAGE Publications, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 2007

Link to Full Text

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