The effect of oleic acid/silane treatments of Fe3O4 nanoparticles on the mechanical properties of an epoxy coating

Fe3O4 nanoparticle with flower like morphology was synthesized in the presence of oleic acid as surfactant and then surface treated by 3-amino propyl trimethoxy silane (APTMS). Morphology and phase composition of the nanoparticle was investigated by fieldemission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Also, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy was utilized to evaluate the silane grafted on the particles. Tensile test and fracture morphology was performed to study the mechanical properties of the epoxy composites filled with 1 wt.% of nanoparticles. Results showed that coatings reinforced with silane modified nanopigments had better mechanical properties in comparison with blank sample.