Synthesis and properties of nanohybrid materials with SiO2 and epoxy resin

SiO2-epoxy nanohybrid materials were synthesized by hybridization of surface-modified colloidal silica nanoparticle (CS) and epoxy resin. The CS was surface-modified with either methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) or phenyltrimethoxysilane (PTMS) followed by the solvent exchange with dimethylacetamide (DMAc) to have a homogenous dispersion in epoxy resin. Various amounts of surface-modified CS were mixed with epoxy resin. The chemical structures of surface-modified CS were investigated with FT-IR spectroscopy. The particle sizes of CS and surface-modified CS were measured with DLS. The morphology of hybrid materials analyzed using FE-SEM and AFM showed homogeneous dispersion in epoxy resin. The optical and thermal properties of the hybrid materials determined by refractive index meter and DSC were lower in RI and higher in Tg than neat epoxy resin, respectively.