Influence of the functionality of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane–POSS containing glycidyl groups on the dispersion and interaction with epoxy nanocomposites

For the polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) nanocomposites with epoxy resins, the POSS functionality is an important issue since these compounds will be diluted in the resin that will later undergo a chemical reticulation process. In this study, mono, tri and octa‐functional POSS containing glycidyl groups were dispersed in an epoxy resin by applying ultrasound. Based on the results obtained from the transmission electron microscopy, POSS tended to form an ordered phase to minimize the interfacial tension; however, this form was influenced by its functionality. The use of mono‐functional POSS shows finer dispersion and promotes an increase in the resin glass transition temperature. However, the octa‐functional POSS leads to improvement in thermal stability as seen in the degradation analysis. These results showed that the equilibrium of the dispersed nanoparticle is more evident for lower functionalized particles since higher functionalized ones hinder diffusion movements which ultimately form an ordered and dispersed phase in the resin during reticulation. POLYM. COMPOS., 38:E229–E236, 2017. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers