An experimental investigation of the effects of nanoparticles on the mechanical properties of epoxy coating

The main focus of the study is to investigate the effect of inorganic nanoparticles on mechanical and morphological properties of epoxy/Polyamid coating system, and compare the obtained results with that of unreinforced coating. The nanocomposite coatings are formulated by incorporation of various types of nanoparticles (ZrO2, ZnO, SiO2, and Fe2O3) with 2 wt% loading for each type of nanostructure. The results revealed that the incorporation of such a small amount of these nanoparticles brings significant changes to mechanical properties, with SiO2 demonstrated superior mechanical properties. The hardness and elastic modulus increased 71% and 26% respectively by addition of 2 wt% SiO2 in epoxy matrix.