Abstract
Graft polymerization of glycidyl methacrylate onto nano-SiC particles by means of soapless emulsion polymerization results in composite particles consisting of SiC core and polymeric shell, in which polyglycidyl methacrylate (PGMA) is bonded to the nanoparticles by the double bonds introduced during the pretreatment with a coupling agent. Compared with untreated nano-SiC particles, the grafted versions exhibit improved dispersibility. Besides, they are able to establish chemical bonding between the fillers and matrix through the reaction between the epoxide groups and the curing agent when being compounded with epoxy. As a result of these advantages, the epoxy composites filled with PGMA grafted nano-SiC particles possess rather high sliding wear resistance and low frictional coefficient at low filler loading, which cannot be observed in untreated SiC nanoparticles/epoxy system.