Direct Preparation Of Epoxy-Silica Nanocomposite From Nanoscale Colloidal Silica

Recently the research efforts on epoxy resin have been focused on improving their thermal stability,leveling up glass transition tempratures, increasing dimentional stability, lowering dielectric constant and enhancing flame retardance. An approach of simultaneously achieving the above mentioned objectives is reasonably attractive especially for epoxy resins used in nodern electronic and electrical products. Formation of organic-inorganic nanocomposite, i.e blending inorganic fillers and organic polymericmaterials in molecular scale, have shown ability of providing a feasible approach of simultaneusly improving the thermal, mechanical, and flame retardant properties as well as dimentional stability of polymeric materials[1-4].There are four major materials used to prepare inorganic-organic nanocomposite: (a) layered clay[5] (b) alkoxysilane compounds as precursors and performing through a sol-gel technic[6] (c) polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxan (POSS), (d) nanoparticles[7,8], nanofiber and other sinthetic materials. Nanoscale colloidal silica, in addition to layer clay, has been considered as inorganic fillers for the preparation of nanocomposite associated with the sol-gel process or in situ polymerization technique[