Thermal, mechanical and dielectric properties of glass fiber reinforced epoxy-lanthanum manganite nanocomposites

The mechanical, thermal and dielectric properties of lanthanum manganite (LaMnO3) epoxy nanocomposites reinforced with silane coated E-glass fiber are reported. Structural and morphological characteristics of the LaMnO3, synthesized by the solution combustion method, were studied via X-ray diffraction, EDAX and scanning electron microscopy. LaMnO3/epoxy composites containing various percentages of LaMnO3 (LME) were prepared via hand lay-up method and tested for tensile, flexural and impact strength. Improved properties were obtained with the addition of LME compared to plain epoxy composites. The thermal stability of the composites remains almost unaltered by the filler loading. Variation in the dielectric characteristics with filler loading is attributed to the percolation of charge carriers due to the interfacial zonal overlapping in the nanocomposite resulting in a change of the dielectric characteristics.