Infusion of SiC nanoparticles into SC-15 epoxy: An investigation of thermal and mechanical response

In the present investigation we have developed a novel technique to synthesize nanocomposite materials consisting of SC-15 epoxy resin and silicon carbide (beta-SiC) nanoparticles. A high intensity ultrasonic liquid processor was used to obtain a homogeneous molecular mixture of epoxy resin and beta-SiC nanoparticles. In this study, we have prepared three different samples containing 0.5, 1, and 1.5% of beta-SiC nanoparticles by weight of the epoxy resin. In parallel, control samples were also made following identical procedures without the infusion of nanoparticles. Test samples were characterized by TGA, DSC and three-point bend flexural tests to evaluate thermal and mechanical properties. The results indicate that 1 wt.-% loading derives the maximum improvement in both thermal and mechanical properties when compared to the neat system. The dispersion of nanoparticles and morphological changes were studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM), These results demonstrate that the nanoparticles are spherical in shape (approximate to 30 nm sizes) and are uniformly dispersed over the entire volume of the resin.