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Composite materials have now become commonplace and are increasingly used in industrial applications, where they offer the advantage of low weight associated high strength, stiffness and durability. Notableexamples include sandwich structures, laminates, reinforced polymers, concrete and fiber-reinforced composites (with a fiberglass or carbon fiber). The interfacial adhesion between the hydrophobic polymer matrix and the hydrophilic reinforcing material plays an important role in determining the mechanical properties of a polymer composite. In conventional composites, the reinforcing material and polymer are combined on a macroscopic scale leading to micro-composites. Thus, these composites usually have poor adhesion between the matrix and the filler. Composite that exhibit a change in composition and structure over nanometer length scale (10 - m) have been shown over the last decade to afford remarkable property enhancement relative to conventional-scaled composites. Polymer-clay
nanocomposites were first reported in the literature as early as 1961, when Blumstein performed the
polymerization of vinyl monomers intercalated into montmorillonite 1]. The first industrial application
was carried out by the Toyota Group in 1988 2]. The replacement of the inorganic exchange cations in
the galleries of the native clay by alkylammonium surfactants leads to a better compatibility between the
inorganic clay and the hydrophobic polymer 3]. c-Caprolactam was polymerized in the interlayer gallery of the Organo-layered clay to form a nylon 6-clay nanocomposites (4,5] with improved thermal stability, strength and distortion. Polymer-clay nanocornposites formation was reviewed by Lagaly 6], 7], 8], 9], 1O], Dubois 11]. Recently nanocomposites, were obtained by electron beam (Mehnert et 12]) or y-Ray induced curing (Xiangling Xu 13]). UV curable composites are increasingly used in various industrial applications, because of their superior performance regarding processing and product properties. Composite materials that exhibit a change in composition and structure over nanometer length scale have been shown to afford remarkable property enhancement relative to micrometer-scaled composites. In this paper we present our first results on the synthesis of nanocomposite materials within seconds at ambient temperature by UV-irradiation of chemically modified clay powder impregnated with an acrylate resin. The influence of Organo-clays on the photopolymerization reaction was evaluated and monitored by using real-time FTIR 14]. Conversions versus time profiles are directly recorded by this technique which is well suited for the kinetic
analysis of ultrafast reactions proceeding in thin films. The required exfoliation of the nanometer-thick
platelets was demonstrated by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Photoset nanocomposites may offer enhanced
physical properties, in particular increased heat resistance, strength, stiffness and barrier properties.
Because particle sizes are inferior to the wavelength visible light, they do not change optical properties such as transparency.
