Effects of post cure treatment in the glass transformation range on the structure and fire behavior of in situ generated silica/epoxy hybrids

A hybrid co-continuous network embedding nanoparticles (maximum 1.25 nm in size) was obtained; A post-cure was performed above the glass transformation temperature, Tg, of neat epoxy; The post cure makes Tg, storage modulus and Heat Release Rate (HRR) to increase; No dripping in flame test and up to 40% HRR reduction for only 2 wt.% silica content is observed; The post cure effects depend on nanoparticles clustering in the glass transformation range.