Reinforcing epoxy with Ag-decorated flower-like TiO 2 nanoparticles: Structure and photocatalytic performance
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Reinforcing epoxy with Ag‑decorated flower‑like TiO2 nanoparticles: Structure and photocatalytic performance Derya Kapusuz1 Received: 24 June 2020 / Accepted: 27 August 2020 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract The objective of this work was to synthesize silver (Ag) decorated flower-like (FL) titania (TiO2) nanoparticles and incorporate them into epoxy. The motivation was to increase the matrix-filler interlocking by FL morphology, so that mechanical durability of the surface could be preserved while photocatalytic capability was introduced to the polymer. FLTiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized by solvothermal reaction at 180 °C, for 4 h. Ag-decoration was performed by a simple solution-mixing approach using silver nitrate. 4 wt.% reinforced FLTiO2/epoxy composites were prepared w/o Ag-decoration. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning/transmission electron microscopy (SEM, TEM), gas adsorption (N2), Fourier-transform (FT) infrared (IR) and UV–visible spectroscopies were used to characterize the phases, morphology, surface, chemical and optical structure of the nanoparticles. Nanoparticles were composed of rutile (71%) and anatase (29%) phases and exhibited a mesoporous structure with an indirect band gap of 2.90 eV. Analysis of the nanocomposites indicated that FLTiO2 nanoparticles formed Ti–O–C linkages with epoxy at the interface and enhanced mechanical/chemical interlocking resulted in 13-fold increase in microhardness. Water sorption (WS) was not significantly affected by FLTiO2 reinforcement, but Ag-decoration increased the WS. FLTiO2/epoxy nanocomposites exhibited photocatalytic performance up to 48 h, w/o Ag-decoration. Ag-decoration enhanced the degradation rate. Each nanocomposite was reusable and was still photo-active after 3 cycles. In the overall, considering the well-known antimicrobial behavior of Ag, the synergic effect of Ag with FLTiO2 in epoxy can provide durable alternatives which require microbe/pollutant resistance in public environments. Keywords Epoxy · Silver · Titanium dioxide · Nanocomposite · Photocatalytic
1 Introduction Epoxy is a family of thermosetting polymers which contain one or more epoxide group in its molecular structure [1]. It has been used in a wide range of applications, from aerospace and marine industries to electronics and transport [2–5]. Its adhesiveness and anti-corrosive properties together with ease of handling during processing open new doors to researchers to reinforce with novel materials and introduce epoxy new capabilities. Despite its advantages, epoxy suffers from mechanical failure upon prolonged use at high-loading; due to its brittleness caused by excessive cross-linking during polymerization [6].
* Derya Kapusuz [email protected] 1
Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Gaziantep University, 27310 Gaziantep, Turkey
Studies showed that reinforcing epoxy with stronger particles such as graphene oxide [7], nanotubes [8], boron nitride (BN) [9] zinc oxide (ZnO) [10] and TiO2 [11] is an advan
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