Novel preparation of epoxy/silica nanocomposite using Si-N precursor

Abstract

In order to overcome drawbacks in the conventional preparation of epoxy/silica nanocomposites, such as formation of micro voids and dimensional instability caused by evolution of volatile by-products during curing reaction, a novel preparation method using Si-N precursor has been proposed. When prepared through insitu reaction of epoxy curing reaction with sol-gel reaction of Si-N precursor, methyltripiperidinylsilane (MTPS) which does not produce by-products during reaction, epoxy/sihca nanocomposites of extremely even dispersion of inorganic phase could be successfully prepared, resulting in high enhancement of mechanical and thermal properties as well as outstanding transparency.