A novel SiO2–GO/acrylic resin nanocomposite: fabrication, characterization and properties

The nanohybrids of silicon dioxide–graphene oxide (SiO2–GO) were prepared by surface modification of graphene oxide (GO) by the hydrolysis of the tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and then the SiO2–GO was added into acrylic resin as reinforcement to prepare acrylic nanocomposites. The structure of SiO2–GO was characterized by XRD, FT-IR, Raman and the morphology and dispersion study of SiO2–GO were observed by SEM and TEM. The results showed that the SiO2–GO was dispersed well in the acrylic resin matrix. Furthermore, the corresponding thermal, mechanical, and chemical resistance properties of the SiO2–GO/acrylic resin nanocomposites with mass ratios of SiO2–GO to acrylic resin (0.04, 0.06, 0.08, 0.10, and 0.12 wt%) were studied and compared with those of pure acrylic resin and the GO/acrylic resin nanocomposites with the same mass ratios of GO to acrylic resin. The results revealed that the loading of SiO2–GO effectively enhanced various properties of acrylic resin, which provides a new method for preparation of graphene nanocomposites.