Chemical grafting of nano-SiO2 onto graphene oxide via thiol-ene click chemistry and its effect on the interfacial and mechanical properties of GO/epoxy composites

A facile and rapid come close to the manufacture of advanced epoxy nanocomposites by grafting of nano-silicon dioxide (nano-SiO2) onto the graphene oxide (GO) through thiol-ene click reaction was reported. The correlations between surface modification, morphology, dispersion/exfoliation, interfacial interaction of sheets and the corresponding mechanical properties of the composites were methodically explored. It appeared that nano-SiO2 have been grafted onto GO via covalent bonding successfully, which effectively improved the interface compatibility and dispersion in epoxy matrix. The reinforcing mechanisms has been also elaborated. It is demonstrated that the tensile strength and elastic modulus for filler with 0.1 wt% GO-SiO2/epoxy composites increased by 32.18% and 22.86% compared to neat epoxy, respectively. It is believed that the simplistic and effectual method may provide a novel and promising strengthen design strategy for next‐generation advanced nanocomposite structures.