Impact of TiO₂ nanofiller on Electrical and Mechanical properties of Epoxy nanocomposites

The Epoxy resin has superior insulating properties, hence it can be widely used in electronic and electrical devices. The proposed work focuses on the dispersion of different weight percentage of inorganic nano filler such as TiO <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> in the Epoxy matrix. Experiments were carried out on Epoxy nanocomposites to investigate the effects of the Epoxy-TiO <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> filler interface on the electrical, mechanical properties, and morphology. The results also indicated that Epoxy-TiO <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> filler interface has an impact on the properties of the composites. The inclusion of TiO <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> (1, 2, 3 and 5 wt.%) nanoparticle into the Epoxy matrix, results in some interesting and unique dielectric behaviors. The mechanical performance of the nanocomposites indicates that the flexural strength and fracture toughness of nanocomposites decreases with the increase in filler loading. The tensile modulus increases with the increase in filler loading. The X-Ray diffraction (XRD) study shows the nanocomposites are crystalline in nature. The crystallinity and structure can be analyzed using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and the result indicates the presence of functional groups and formation of chemical bonds.