Enhancement of the mechanical properties of an epoxy composite through inclusion of graphene oxide nanosheets functionalized with silica nanoparticles through one and two steps sol-gel routes

Silica-functionalized graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets (GONs) were synthesized through a two-step sol-gel route. The chemical structure and morphology of the SiO2-GONs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). Then, the effect of SiO2-GONs on the mechanical properties of epoxy coating (EP) was studied by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) and tensile test. Interestingly, when 0.1 wt.% of the silica modified GO nanosheets was added to the epoxy matrix, the tensile strength, energy at break, storage modulus, cross-linking density and glass transition temperature (Tg) of the coating were remarkably increased.