Epoxide-Modified SiO2@Epoxy Nanocomposite for Enhanced Mechanical Properties

The development of nanocomposites promising a wide range of interesting properties such as mechanical, optical and electrical conductivity is under intense investigation. One key challenge towards practical applications lies in effective dispersion of nanofillers in the polymer matrices. An one-pot wet-chemistry synthesis approach was developed for successful fabrication of surface modified SiO2 nanoparticles@epoxy nanocomposites (1 wt%). Homogeneous nanofiller dispersion was obtained in SiO2-epoxide@epoxy. Importantly, the SiO2-epoxide@epoxy presented its enhanced mechanical properties with reference to pure epoxy, i.e., ~ 77% increase in maximum tensile stress and ~ 19% increase in Young’s modulus. This was attributed to the much improved dispersion of nanofillers and the optimized interaction between nanofillers and matrix. Further, SiO2-epoxide@epoxy prepared from master batch with 80 wt% SiO2 loading retained the good dispersion of nanofillers and enhanced mechanical properties. This demonstration allows future implementation of the developed approach for the surface modified SiO2@epoxy nanocomposites towards industrial applications.