Toughening of Epoxy Adhesives by Nanoparticles

Abstract

With the emergence and commercialization of nanoparticles, new opportunities have emerged for toughening of epoxy adhesives using nanoparticles without sacrificing strength, rigidity and glass transition temperature, as is the case with conventional elastomeric tougheners. Inorganic Fullerene-like tungsten disulfide (IF-WS2) nanoparticles and functionalized nano-POSS (Polyhedral-Oligomeric-Sil-Sesquioxane) were used to study the effects of nanoparticles on the toughening and mechanical properties of low and high temperature curing epoxy systems. Experimental results indicated that IF-WS2 increased the fracture toughness by more than 10 fold in both epoxy systems at very low concentrations (0.3–0.5 wt%) while increasing its storage modulus and preserving its glass transition temperature. Epoxy functionalized POSS demonstrated an increase in toughness in addition to preserving rigidity and thermal properties at higher concentrations (3 wt%). It was postulated that chemical interaction of the sulfide and the epoxy matrix and the inherent properties of WS2 were the decisive factors with respect to the outstanding nano-effect in the case IF-WS2.