The effect of nanoparticles on the adhesion of epoxy adhesive

In this investigation, the influence of different nanoparticles and surface roughness on the adhesion between epoxy adhesive and steel substrate was primarily investigated. The results of pull-off adhesion tests indicated that namo-Al2O3 of the three kinds of nanoparticles had the most influence on adhesion strength, which was the optimal additive for the epoxy adhesive to improve the adhesion strength. Also, it was found that modified by 2% namo-Al2O3, the strength multiplication on the surface abraded with silicon carbide paper of 150 grits (150#) was the highest, of three different surface roughness. So, as the results showed that modified by 2% namo-Al2O3, the adhesion strength of epoxy adhesive on the surface abraded with 150# was visibly improved by about 5 times. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) displayed namo-Al2O3 homogeneously dispersed in epoxy adhesive. Field emission scanning electronic microscope (FE-SEM) revealed that the surface morphology of steel well coincided with that of epoxy adhesive. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.