Synergistic effect of nanotextured graphene oxide modified with hollow silica microparticles on mechanical and thermal properties of epoxy nanocomposites

The current study explores the synergistic effect of graphene oxide and nano & hollow silica particle composite as a reinforcing agent for improved mechanical and thermal properties of tetrafunctional epoxy nanocomposites. The unique architecture of the reinforcing agent prevents the agglomeration of graphene oxide sheets during the drying process and during the process of incorporation into epoxy matrices. Graphene oxide was functionalized with nano-silica and in-situ decorated with flexible hollow micro-silica particles. The nano-silica reduces the cohesive forces among the nano-textured graphene sheets and prevents restacking during the drying process. The hollow micro-silica particles act as a physical barrier, preventing restacking and agglomeration. The silica particles are amine-functionalized, facilitating chemical bonding between graphene oxide and epoxy. Additionally, the flexible and hollow nature of particles does not create any porosity in the matrix and participates in improving mechanical properties. The SGO-SiO2 modified epoxy nanocomposites were fabricated where loading was varied from 0.25 to 1 wt%. Modified epoxy nanocomposites showed excellent improvement of more than 40% compared to neat epoxy for compressive, flexural, and fracture properties with the loading of SGO-SiO2 in the range 0.75 wt% to 1 wt%.