Interfacial structures and properties of granular SiO2/unsaturated polyester resin composites

AbstractThe goal of this paper is to investigate the interfacial structural and related mechanical properties of granular SiO2/unsaturated polyester resin composites. The coupling agent WD-SC101 was chosen to enhance the compatibility between the reinforcing quartz and unsaturated polyester resin. The nanoindentation technique was used to investigate interfacial mechanical properties of artificial quartz stones. The effects of the interfacial thickness on mechanical properties of the material were evaluated using finite element analysis. It is shown that the interfacial thickness of the specimen without coupling agent is about 0–600 nm; in contrast, the interfacial thickness with adding 3‰ coupling agent is about 600–1200 nm. After the coupling agent reacted with the surface hydroxyl of the quartz reinforcement, the thickness of high-modulus interface increased and the bending fracture strength reduced with adding coupling agent.