Effect of zircon and anatase titanium dioxide nanoparticles on glass fibre reinforced epoxy with mechanical and morphological studies

Abstract

In recent years, researchers have been interested in incorporating inorganic nanoparticles into thermosetting epoxy composites to improve their mechanical properties. This research explores the diffusion of ball milled zircon (ZrSiO4) and anatase TiO2 nanoparticles with glass fibre reinforced epoxy polymer (GFRP) composites at the same weight percentages (0:0, 2.5:2.5, 5:5, and 7.5:7.5) to improve mechanical properties. The ZrSiO4 and TiO2 nanoparticles were prepared by an ultrasonic liquid processor, and composites were fabricated using the compression molding technique. The void percentage was calculated from the theoretical and measured densities of composites. Mechanical tests were conducted in accordance with ASTM standards. The particle sizes of zircon and titanium dioxide were calculated as 70.5 nm and 64.5 nm, respectively, using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), which reveals the fibre pullout, damaged interfaces, filler dispersion, and voids in specimens. The chemical composition, crystalline structure, and size were determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD). It was found that the GFRP composite with Zircon and TiO2 incorporated at a concentration of 5:5 wt% has a greater tensile strength of 74.34%, a tensile modulus of 18.14%, a flexural strength of 33.55%, a flexural modulus of 33.61%, a shore "D" hardness of 4.66%, and a capacity to absorb energy of 61.14% in notched specimens with neat GFRP. With filler addition, the percentage of elongation at failure in the 5:5 wt percent for the tensile test is 44.36%, and the flexural test is 24.38% higher than the neat sample. Hence, this work improves the GFRP composites' mechanical and structural properties.