A Study of the Mechanical and Permeability Properties of Nano- and Micron-Tio 2 Filled Epoxy Composites

Polymer nanocomposites consisting of 32 nm diameter TiO 2 nanoparticles and epoxy resin were ultrasonically processed and the mechanical and permeability properties of the resulting composites were compared to composites containing 0.24 μm TiO 2 particles and to neat resin. It was found that the nanocomposites with well-dispersed nanoparticles at 10 wt% loading exhibited a unique combination of properties showing increases in both scratch resistance and modulus, as well as gains in strain-to-failure and swelling resistance, while maintaining toughness. The micron filled composites showed no increase in scratch resistance and a decrease in strain-to-failure relative to the neat resin.