Anisotropic reinforcement of epoxy-based nanocomposites with aligned magnetite–sepiolite hybrid nanofiller

Magnetic sepiolite fiber (m-SEP) was successfully prepared by chemical coupling of aminosilane-functionalized sepiolite with epoxysilane-functionalized magnetite, as confirmed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy. This hybrid material was magnetically aligned into an epoxy resin under the action of a relatively weak magnetic field and the resulting oriented dispersion was cured with a polyether amine. The addition of m-SEP increased the flexural modulus of the epoxy nanocomposites and the alignment in the longitudinal direction resulted in an additional reinforcement of the epoxy network, mainly for system containing 10wt% of m-SEP. These results confirm the anisotropic reinforcing effect of the aligned magnetic sepiolite fibers.