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

The nanohybrids of silicon dioxide–graphene oxide (SiO 2 –GO) were prepared by surface modification of graphene oxide (GO) by the hydrolysis of the tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and then the SiO 2 –GO was added into acrylic resin as reinforcement to prepare acrylic nanocomposites. The structure of SiO 2 –GO was characterized by XRD, FT-IR, Raman and the morphology and dispersion study of SiO 2 –GO were observed by SEM and TEM. The results showed that the SiO 2 –GO was dispersed well in the acrylic resin matrix. Furthermore, the corresponding thermal, mechanical, and chemical resistance properties of the SiO 2 –GO/acrylic resin nanocomposites with mass ratios of SiO 2 –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 SiO 2 –GO effectively enhanced various properties of acrylic resin, which provides a new method for preparation of graphene nanocomposites.