Effect of a novel green modification of alumina nanoparticles on the curing kinetics and electrical insulation properties of epoxy composites

A novel green surface modification was successfully implemented on alumina nanoparticles using chitosan (CS) to prevent nanoparticles' aggregation. To evaluate the surface changes of nanoparticles, FTIR, TGA, TEM, and SEM analyses were used. The cure kinetics of the uncured samples was analyzed by DSC. Different methods such as KAS, Friedman, Starink, and FWO were applied to measure the activation energy. The activation energy of epoxy reinforced with chitosan-functionalized alumina (epoxy/[CS-EPO-alumina]) was less than that of epoxy reinforced with alumina (epoxy/alumina), which was a confirmation of the positive effect of CS on curing reaction kinetics. Using the Malek method, the Sestak-Berggren autocatalytic equation was chosen to investigate the cure kinetics of the epoxy. It was found that the Sestak-Berggren equation is well matched with the experimental data and the model was suitable to predict the epoxy curing reaction reliably. Moreover, the glass transition temperatures of all samples were approximately the same. The effect of surface modification of alumina on the electrical insulating behavior of epoxy was also studied. It was found that CS functionalized alumina (CS-EPO-alumina) increased volume resistivity of epoxy at a temperature range of 30 to 80 degrees C more than that of alumina. Electric stability and breakdown strength of epoxy/alumina and epoxy/(CS-EPO-alumina) also enhanced, where epoxy/(CS-EPO-alumina) experienced a further increase compared to epoxy.

Automated summary

A novel green surface modification using chitosan was successfully implemented on alumina nanoparticles to prevent aggregation. Various analyses were used to evaluate surface changes, showing that chitosan-functionalized alumina has a positive effect on epoxy curing kinetics. Additionally, surface modification of alumina significantly affected the electrical insulating behavior of epoxy.