Advanced fabrication and characterization of AMMT nano clay reinforced tri-functional epoxy nanocomposites for superior thermal and mechanical properties

N¹-(thiophen-2-ylmethylene)benzene-1,3-diamine (TMBD) epoxy resin was mixed with octadecyl amine-functionalized montmorillonite (AMMT) nano clay at different weight loadings, namely 1%, 2%, and 3% by weight, respectively. The TMBD/AMMT nano clay epoxy nanocomposites were then cured using diaminodiphenylether (DDE) as a curing agent. XRD, SEM and TEM were employed for the analysis of the TMBD/AMMT nano clay epoxy nanocomposites. It is worth noting that the mechanical and thermal behavior of the TMBD/AMMT nano clay epoxy nanocomposites showed significant improvement than the pure TMBD epoxy matrix, which may be attributed to the formation of covalent links between the AMMT nano clay and the TMBD epoxy. Furthermore, the TMBD/AMMT nanocomposites demonstrated excellent antibacterial activity against E.coli, a highly virulent human pathogenic yeast, even at high concentrations. Consequently, the TMBD/AMMT nanocomposites can be considered a promising formulation for preventing bacterial growth.