A Comparative Study on Mechanical and Tribological Properties of Epoxy Composites Filled with Nano-ZrO 2 and Nano-Al 2 O 3 Fillers

The epoxy nanocomposites reinforced with nano-size zirconia and alumina (0.5, 1, 5 and 10 wt%) were prepared by high shear mixing and casting method. The nanocomposites with 0.5 wt% Al2O3 nanoparticles exhibited maximum improvement in flexural strength (+156%) as well as modulus (+90%) with respect to neat epoxy. The lowest specific wear rate of 0.1 × 10−4 mm3/N/m (−95%) has been achieved with 0.5 wt% ZrO2 composite relative to neat epoxy’s value 2 × 10−4 mm3/N/m. It was observed that increment in tensile strength and moduli were more for alumina filled composites than the corresponding zirconia filled composites.