Developing toughened bismaleimide-clay nanocomposites: Comparing the use of platelet and rod-like nanoclays

Rod-like sepiolite organoclays are incorporated into a simple, first-generation commercial bismaleimide (BMI) to improve the inherent brittleness of the cured polymer; montmorillonite clay is used as a baseline comparison. Both solution and solid state blending methods are evaluated to determine which offer the best method of dispersion. Increased Pangel B40 (sepiolite) loading leads to finer particle sizes and a narrower size distribution...