Effect of electron beam irradiation on thermal and mechanical properties of epoxy/clay nanocomposites

In this study, epoxy/clay nanocomposites with different content of nanoclay were prepared by shear mixing followed by ultrasonication. In order to study electron beam irradiation effects, nanocomposites were exposed to electron beam irradiation in 100, 500 and 1000 KGy doses. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy were used to study the morphology of nanocomposites. The mechanical and thermal behaviors of nanocomposites were studied by tensile test and thermo-gravimetric analysis. The results showed that the irradiation brought about improvement in mechanical properties in most specimens and the most improvement was achieved in 100 KGy irradiation doses.