Study on preparation of SiO₂/epoxy resin hybrid materials by means of sol-gel

Silicon dioxide/epoxy resin hybrid material was prepared by means of Sol-Gel based on epoxy resin, tetraethyl orthosioate (TEOS), [H2N(CH₂)₃Si(OC₂ H₅)₃](KH-550), Methyltetrahydrophthalic anhydride (MeTHPA), dimethyl phthalate (DMP-30) and (HOCH₂ CH₂)N. The contents of TEOS, KH-550 and reacting temperature influencing on the properties of hybrid materials were studied. The behaviors of the hybrid materials were characterized by differential scanning calorimentry (DSC), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform-infrared ray (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The results showed that the properties of the material was optimal at approximately 3% TEOS, 2% KH-550, reacting at 60°C, and the mechanical and thermal properties were significantly improved compared with the pure epoxy resin. The dimension of SiO₂ particles was about 20 nm, and distributed homogeneously in the system.