%0 Journal Article %A Cai, Dongyu %A Song, Mo %D 2015 %T High mechanical performance polyurea/organoclay nanocomposites %U https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/articles/journal_contribution/High_mechanical_performance_polyurea_organoclay_nanocomposites/9234383 %2 https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/ndownloader/files/16815887 %K Polymer-matrix composites (PMCs) %K Nano comoposites %K Mechanical properties %K Stress/strain curves %K Materials Engineering not elsewhere classified %X This study reported that the intercalation of C20 organoclay was achieved in polyurea (PUr) matrices. The significant reinforcement was observed in a highly crosslinked PUr (HPUr), in which the Young’s modulus, stress and elongation at break was improved by ∼40%, ∼110% and ∼50%, respectively, with the addition of 5 wt% C20. The energy dissipation of HPUrs was more than doubled by 5 wt% C20 at the strain of 50% and 100%. It was also found that the reinforcement was not equally significant in a lowly crosslinked PUr, indicating that macromolecular structure of the PUr matrices was important for optimizing the nano-effect in the nanocomposites. %I Loughborough University