Azin PaydayeshU - Polymer Engineering Group, Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, P.O. Box: ۱۴۱۱۵-۱۱۴, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Mehrdad Kokabi
Ahmad Reza Bahramian

Composite materials reinforced on a molecular scale are a new class of materials in which an inorganic clay mineral is dispersed in an organic polymer on a nanometre scale. These new materials show dramatic improvements in mechanical and thermal properties. But only few attempts have been made so far to achieve highly filled nanocompositesIn this work, highly filled clay nanocomposites based on asbestos- phenolic system are prepared and characterized by XRD, 3 point bending test and SEM and optical microscopy.Results reveal decreasing of modulus and flexural strength and increasing in elongation at break, with adding montmorillonite. Reduction of strength was attributed to the formation of micro-voids in the system due to the rapid increase of viscosity during mixing. The results also show that nanocomposite samples with 50 and 60 phr clay have acceptable mechanical properties in compare of composite counterpart. These systems could be used in different applications such as thermal barrier.

Mechanical Properties, Highly Filled Nanocomposites, Phenolic Resin