Study of curing kinetics and thermal stability of epoxy nanocomposites in the presence of silica nanoparticles

Epoxy resin is used as a wind turbine, coating, adhesive and base material for composites and is widely used in automotive, electronics, and construction industries. Modification of the surface of epoxy nanocomposites in the presence of silica nanoparticles, due to increased adhesion and covalent bonding, increases the impact strength and Also, by adding silica nanoparticles to epoxy resin, the Young's modulus increases linearly, which is due to the increase in nanoparticle dispersion and reduced stress concentration. By adding silica nanoparticles to epoxy resin, the maximum heat flow temperature decreases and the curing rate increases, and also causes the heat flow curve of epoxy nanocomposite to be wider. The presence of silica nanoparticles reduces the activation energy and silica nanoparticles act as a catalyst in the curing reaction with epoxy resin. Two important factors in reducing the thermal degradation of epoxy nanocomposites are proper dispersion of nanoparticles and non-agglomeration. Silica nanoparticles increase the maximum temperature of thermal degradation, thermal stability and the percentage of residual char. In this research, the modeling of curing kinetics of epoxy nanocomposites on morphology, rheological and mechanical properties, activation energy, curing degree, heat flow and investigation of thermal stability and thermal degradation has been reported.