Nanostructured Insights: Exploring Structural Properties and Characterization Challenges in Clay-Based Hybrid Nanocomposites

Abstract

The glass-epoxy hybrid composite is created using a manual lay-up approach with halloysite nanotubular particles. Actually, the direction of nano-clay particles may lead to agglomeration, to overcome this problem the epoxy is needed to be chemically treated. The thermal chemical reaction between epoxy resin and unsaturated polyester was facilitated by an initiator in the form of benzyl peroxide radical. The produced composite was tested using an X-Ray Diffractometer.  After that, Halloysite nanotubular (HNT) clay was added in increments of 1, 2, and 3% (by weight) to epoxy and unsaturated polyester toughened epoxy systems. This paper aims to characterize the wear properties of epoxy polymers and glass fiber-reinforced hybrid composites with clay. Characterization is done by using X-Ray Diffraction and performance levels of the composite at different percentage of nano clay addition are observed. Under this study, wear tests of the Pin-on-disc type have been carried out at various loads and times for varying percentage compositions of nano clay particle addition, and the corresponding variations have been investigated.