On fracture toughness of nano-particle modified epoxy

A systematic study on the effects of silica and rubber nano-particles on the fracture toughness behavior of epoxy was conducted. Mode I fracture toughness (G(IC)) of binary silica/epoxy, binary rubber/epoxy and ternary silica/rubber/epoxy nanocomposites with different particle weight fractions was obtained by compact tension tests. It is found that G(IC) of epoxy can be significantly increased by incorporating either rubber or silica nano-particles. However, hybrid nanocomposites do not display any synergistic effect on toughness. Microstructures before and after fracture testing were examined to understand the role of nano-particles on the toughening mechanisms. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.