Mechanical and damping properties of epoxy/liquid rubber intercalating organic montmorillonite integration nanocomposites

ABSTRACT Two different kinds of micro‐nanoconstrained damping structure units (M‐NCDSUs) were prepared by carboxyl‐terminated butadiene acrylonitrile copolymer and epoxy‐terminated butadiene acrylonitrile copolymer liquid rubbers intercalating organic montmorillonite, respectively. The prepared M‐NCDSUs were then blended with epoxy resin to obtain damping structure integration nanocomposites. The X‐ray diffraction and transmission electron microscope measurements applied for the obtained samples confirmed the good formation of M‐NCDSUs in the epoxy network. The tensile strength decreased slightly with the addition of M‐NCDSUs, whereas the damping properties measured by dynamic mechanical analysis showed a remarkable increase. Besides, the cured epoxy resin exhibited a two‐phase morphology where the spherical rubber phase dispersed uniformly in the epoxy matrix. The nanocomposites containing M‐NCDSUs showed superior comprehensive properties compared with that without the functional units. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014, 131, 39797.