title: Preparation, characterization, and enhanced thermal and mechanical properties of epoxy-titania composites.
abstract: This paper presents the synthesis and thermal and mechanical properties of epoxy-titania composites. First, submicron titania particles are prepared via surfactant-free sol-gel method using TiCl₄ as precursor. These particles are subsequently used as inorganic fillers (or reinforcement) for thermally cured epoxy polymers. Epoxy-titania composites are prepared via mechanical mixing of titania particles with liquid epoxy resin and subsequently curing the mixture with an aliphatic diamine. The amount of titania particles integrated into epoxy matrix is varied between 2.5 and 10.0 wt.% to investigate the effect of sub-micron titania particles on thermal and mechanical properties of epoxy-titania composites. These composites are characterized by X-ray photoelectron (XPS) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric (TG), and mechanical analyses. It is found that sub-micron titania particles significantly enhance the glass transition temperature (>6.7%), thermal oxidative stability (>12.0%), tensile strength (>21.8%), and Young's modulus (>16.8%) of epoxy polymers. Epoxy-titania composites with 5.0 wt.% sub-micron titania particles perform best at elevated temperatures as well as under high stress.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Zakya
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Rubab
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan ; Dipartimento di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Bari, Via Orabona 4, 70126 Bari, Italy ; Affiliated Colleges at Hafr Al-Batin, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, P.O. Box 1803, Hafr Al-Batin 31991, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Adeel
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-6528-7300
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Afzal
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Humaira M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Siddiqi
authors.affiliation: Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Islamabad 45650, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Shaukat
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saeed
mesh_terms: D004852:Epoxy Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D004852:Epoxy Compounds; C009495:titanium dioxide; D014025:Titanium