Naturally occurring halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) are first functionalized by 3‐(trimethoxysilyl) propyl methacrylate and then used as nanofillers in a mixture of difunctional methacrylates (triethylene glycol dimethacrylate and bisphenol A glycerolate dimethacrylate). Upon free radical photocrosslinking of this mixture enables the in situ preparation of HNT/thermoset nanocomposites. The covalent bonding of HNT in the thermoset matrix is proven by following characteristic bands of the mixture using Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy. Furthermore, the presence and distribution of HNT in the nanocomposites are confirmed by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy observations. In addition, a mixed morphology containing agglomerated/nonagglomerated HNTs in the thermoset matrix is also determined. Both tensile strength and elasticity modulus of nanocomposites are dramatically increased with increase in HNT loading up to 4% ratio. On the other hand, these nanocomposites exhibit higher thermal properties compared to the neat thermoset.
In the current study, naturally occurring halloysite nanotube (HNT) is first modified by vinyltriethoxysilane to obtain vinyl-functionalized HNT (HNT-Vinyl). Subsequently, the HNT-Vinyl is added as nanofiller by varying weight from 0 to 8% in the presence of multifunctional methacrylates (bisphenol A-dimethacrylate and triethylene glycol dimethacrylate). Free radical photo-
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.