Study on the interfacial interactions of sulfated alumina with epoxy polymer

Abstract Nanostructured oxides are widely applied as fillers in the manufacture of polymer-based composite materials with enhanced operational characteristics. Among them, alumina is of special interest. The present work is devoted to the detailed characterization of the alumina samples with varied donor-acceptor (acidic-basic) properties. It was shown that sulfation of alumina significantly changes the ratio of donor/acceptor sites on its surface, depending on the content of sulfate groups. The reactivity of the alumina surface sites was examined in relation to epoxy groups of phenyl glycidyl ether. It was found that the electron-donor sites on the alumina surface initiate homopolymerization of phenyl glycidyl ether with formation of simple ether. The process begins with the opening of the epoxy groups, which leads to formation of non-cyclic aliphatic simple ether bonds. The results obtained revealed that the donor-acceptor properties of the alumina surface play an important role in the production process of the novel composite materials.