Thermo-mechanical behaviors of epoxy resins reinforced with silane-epoxide functionalized α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles

In this work, alpha-Fe2O3 nanoparticles was synthesized, terminal-epoxide functionalized by using 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPS) coupling agent, characterized by FT-IR, X-ray diffraction, TGA and particle size analyzer and used in preparation of nanocomposites with epoxy resin (DGEBA) using different weight fractions (2-11 wt%). TEM and SEM were used to observe particle dispersion in the resin matrix and to investigate the fractured surface of nanocomposites for evidence of extrinsic toughening mechanism. The mechanical and thermo-mechanical properties of nanocomposites prepared from DGEBA and modified epoxide-terminated alpha-Fe2O3 were compared with the properties of untreated alpha-Fe2O3/DGEBA nanocomposites and neat DGEBA. The modified alpha-Fe2O3/DGEBA nanocomposites showed improvement in properties such as glass transition temperature (T-g) and tensile, flexural and impact strength. These improvements are due to better dispersion of epoxide-terminated alpha-Fe2O3 particles in the resin matrix and enhanced interfacial adhesion between DGEBA and alpha-Fe2O3 phases. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.