Synthesis of Imidazolium Salts and Their Application in Epoxy Montmorillonite Nanocomposites

Published

October 12, 2021

Author(s)

Joseph Langat, S Bellayer, P Hudrlik, A Hudrlik, P H. Maupin, Jeffrey W. Gilman, D T. Raghavan

Abstract

Considerable research has been conducted in improving the performance characteristics of nanocomposites, however, relatively few attempts have been made to address the thermal stability of nanocomposite. An attempt is being made to improve the thermal properties of the nanocomposite by synthesizing imidazolium salts from 2-methylimidazole and ion-exchanging the salts with clay. This study focuses on the role of the chemistry of imidazolium salt(s) used in functionalizing clay and processing conditions in the formulation of epoxy nanocomposites. The nanodispersion of clay in an epoxy matrix is evaluated qualitatively by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electronic microscopy (TEM), and confocal laser microscopy. We demonstrate the use of confocal laser microscopy to study the dispersion of clay layers, tagged by a fluorescent dye in the epoxy matrix. XRD and TEM results reveal that the hand mixed nanocomposite has tactoid morphology, while ultrasonicated organoclay (without hydroxyl group) epoxy nanocomposite has intercalated morphology, and an ultrasonicated organoclay (with hydroxyl group) epoxy nanocomposite exhibit a mixed morphology (intercalated structure with exfoliation). Results from the three complimentary techniques enable the characterization of the clay platelets over several length scales ranging from the micrometer to the nanometer scale.

Citation

Polymer Journal

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

confocal microscopy, nanocomposite, thermal stability

Citation

Langat, J. , Bellayer, S. , Hudrlik, P. , Hudrlik, A. , Maupin, P. , Gilman, J. and Raghavan, D. (2021), Synthesis of Imidazolium Salts and Their Application in Epoxy Montmorillonite Nanocomposites, Polymer Journal (Accessed October 10, 2025)