Environmental Degradation and Durability of Epoxy-Clay Nanocomposites

Table 2

Initial mass gain and final mass loss for exposure to UV radiation and condensation.

Material	Processing	Flexure modulus (GPa)	Fracture toughness (MPa√m)
Neat epoxy	None	2.70 ± 0.05	0.94 ± 0.05
	Hand mix + ultrasonication	3.59 ± 0.11	1.23±0.07
Epoxy-clay	Hand mix + high-shear dispersion	3.69 ± 0.04	1.31 ± 0.04
Nanocomposite	14 hour mechanical mixing	3.50 ± 0.06	1.29 ± 0.02
	14 hours mechanical + ultrasonication	3.75 ± 0.10	1.17 ± 0.03
	14 hours mechanical + high-shear dispersion	3.94±0.20	1.34±0.05