Bio-based Sulfonated Epoxy/Hyperbranched Polyurea-modified MMT Nanocomposites

Hyperbranched polyurea modified nanoclay was used for the preparation of vegetable oil modified sulfone epoxy nanocomposites at different loadings (15wt%) for the first time. The bio-based nanocomposites were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, and FTIR techniques. These nanocomposites showed an enhancement of thermal stability up to 48 degrees C as revealed by thermo-gravimetric analysis. The nanocomposites with 5wt% of nanoclay exhibited more than 300 percent improvement in tensile strength, though the elongation at break decreases with the increase of nanoclay loading. Thus the studied nanocomposites possess better performance over the pristine system.