Effect of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane nanoreinforcement on the properties of epoxy resin/monoglycidylether-terminated poly(dimethylsiloxane) nanocomposites

This article reports the synthesis and characterization of several types of organic–inorganic nanocomposites based on epoxy resin/monoglycidylether-terminated poly(dimethylsiloxane) reinforced with 2, 5, or 10 wt% polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) bearing one glycidyl (1GE-POSS) or eight glycidyl(8GE-POSS) groups. The morphological features of the studied samples were established through atomic force microscopy, contact angle measurements, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and it was demonstrated that 8GE-POSS is well dispersed within the polymer matrix, while 1GE-POSS exhibits a high tendency to form aggregates. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared resonance (FTIR) measurements are used to follow the curing behavior and to study the polymerization kinetics of epoxy groups. As evidenced by DSC and FTIR results, the inclusion of 8GE-POSS within the polymer matrix leads to a lower epoxy polymerization rate of the resulted nanocomposites than those reinforced with 1GE-POSS. The dynamic mechanical analysis results revealed that the thermomechanical properties are gradually improved with increasing of 8GE-POSS content due to the higher cross-linking density.