Mechanical and dynamic-mechanical properties of silanized graphene oxide/epoxy composites

Epoxy resins are widely used thermosets due to their excellent mechanical properties, but their highly cross-linked network hinders their impact absorption ability and limited fracture toughness. Aiming to improve those characteristics, graphene oxide has emerged as a potential nanofiller for epoxy, and additional gain can be achieved with its functionalization. This study focuses on the influence of the GO treatment with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) on the viscosity, curing behavior, cross-link density and mechanical and dynamic-mechanical properties of GO/epoxy nanocomposites. At only 0.10 wt% of GO, cross-link density and heat of reaction were reduced, and the glass transition temperature increased by 7 °C in comparison to the neat resin. Additionally, the plane-strain fracture toughness increased for 0.10 wt% GO and for all APTES treated GO, which represents an advantage in the large-scale use of epoxy composites.