Study of the effect of the concentration, size and surface chemistry of zirconia and silica nanoparticle fillers within an epoxy resin on the bulk properties of the resulting nanocomposites

Abstract

Epoxy resin nanocomposites were prepared by curing bisphenol-F with an aliphatic amine in the presence of SiO 2 and ZrO 2 nanoparticles as inorganic fillers. Both types of particles were prepared with diameters of around 10 nm and 70 nm to study size effects in the nanocomposites. The nanoparticles showed a different constitution: while silica was amorphous and spherical in nature, zirconia was crystalline and non-spherical. Both nanoparticles were surface-functionalized with novel diethyleneglycol-based capping agents to increase the compatibility with the epoxy matrix. The organic functionalities were attached to the nanoparticle surface via phosphonic acid (zirconia) and trialkoxysilane (silica) anchor groups. The homogeneity of the distribution of surface-modified inorganic nano-sized fillers in the matrix up to 5.8 vol% in case of silica and 2.34 vol% in case of zirconia was determined by small-angle X-ray scattering and transmission electron microscopy. Mechanical properties such as hardness and storage modulus were increased with increasing filler content while thermal stability of the obtained materials was nearly unaffected after incorporation of nanoparticles.

Influence of ionic liquid on glass transition, dynamic rheology, and thermal stability of poly(methyl methacrylate)/silica nanocomposites

“…However, the size distributions of silica in the BA200‐10% and BA200‐20% nanocomposites are narrower than that in the A200 one, which is assigned to the modification of ionic liquid and the improved wettability at the interface of silica and PMMA . The modified distribution of size of silica agglomerates is mainly in the range of 50–150 nm, which may be important for mediating mechanical properties of nanocomposites than primary particles in the range from 10 to 30 nm . The presence of ionic liquid also introduces large agglomerates in the range from 200 to 240 nm, thus greatly improves the degree of structural heterogeneity of the filler agglomerates.…”

High modulus polyimide particle-reinforcement of epoxy composites

“…The Kerner equation (eqn (5)) allows for predicting E c . For doing so, the Poisson's ratio n m (taken from literature as 0.35 9 ), the modulus of the matrix material E m , and the volume fraction of the filler compound V f are required. 10,18,33 This equation predicts the modulus of the composite only by assuming spherical particles and takes no other geometrical assumptions into account, hence assuming a perfect interfacial adhesion and an isotropic, homogeneous composite.…”

“…Among all matrix materials, epoxy systems hold a unique position due to their industrial importance, their broad availability, and the adjustability of various of their materials properties through the choice of molecular backbone. Most commonly, epoxy matrices are reinforced by incorporating inorganic particles such as ZrO 2 , SiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 , diamond, glass, short carbon fibres, and nano-clays, [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] which results in an enhancement of mechanical and/or thermal properties. These inorganic filler particles typically increase the modulus and fracture toughness of the composites.…”

Epoxy/Fly ash from Thermal Power Plant/Nanofiller Nanocomposite: Studies on Mechanical and Thermal Properties: A Review

“…Nanosilica-based nanocomposites: Nanosilica particles are used as reinforcement material in a broad range of sizes, from 5 nm to 100 nm. In 2012, Sajjad et al [66] investigated the epoxy nanocomposites which were prepared by bisphenol F, aliphatic amine and inorganic fillers such as SiO 2 and ZrO 2 nanoparticles having a diameter around 10 nm and 70 nm. A different composition was showed by nanoparticles because SiO 2 was amorphous and spherical while ZrO 2 was crystalline and nonspherical.…”