SURFACE MODIFICATION OF NANOSILICA FILLERS FOR THE PREPARATION OF SILICA/EPOXY NANOCOMPOSITES

In this paper we focus on the preparation of the epoxy resin Epikote 828LVEL reinforced with nanosilica. Epoxy composites containing 130-nm spherical silica nanoparticles were prepared at a fixed volume fraction (phi = 0.5 %). To prevent agglomeration the silica fillers were initially pre-treated with diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A. Due to the low content of silica fillers their inclusion in the matrix was confirmed by the increased roughness of the fracture surface compared to the smooth surface of the neat epoxy. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was employed to confirm the changes in the functional groups on the surface of the unmodified and modified silica.