Effect of (3-aminopropyl) triethylsilane treatment on mechanical and thermal properties of alumina-filled epoxy composites

This article reports the effects of silane coupling agent (3-aminopropyl triethylsi- lane) on alumina particles, which were subsequently used as filler for an epoxy resin matrix. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to study the interaction between silane and alumina particles. The effectiveness of the coupling treatment was also correlated to the improvements on the composites properties. The effect of alumina loading on the properties was also investigated. Results from mechanical testing indicated improvements in terms of mechanical properties as a result of the coupling treatment. The morphology of fracture surfaces, from a three-point bend test, was examined using scanning electron microscopy. The coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) suggests that through the addition of the alumina particle, the CTE value decreased accordingly. The thermal stability result, using thermogra- vimetric analysis, showed that treated alumina filled epoxy composite is much more stable for a given temperature.