Syntheses and characterization of novel P/Si polysilsesquioxanes/epoxy nanocomposites

Phosphorus-containing polysilsesquioxane (PSSQ) was introduced into diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A epoxy (DGEBA) to generate a novel P/Si PSSQ nanocomposite. A series of nanocomposites was fabricated by changing the content of the 2-(diphenylphosphino)ethyltriethoxysilane (DPPETES) monomer or P/Si PSSQ cured with DGEBA epoxy and modified epoxy. The structure, thermal properties and flame-retardancy of the P/Si PSSQ nanocomposites were characterized by FT-IR, solid-state 29Si NMR, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and limited oxygen index (LOI) instruments. The nano-sizes of the particles in P/Si PSSQ were approximately 30–50 nm, and the polarity of nanocomposites might generate the nanophase-separated structure from transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The urethane-like side group of the modified epoxy and the fabrication of oligomers in the curing reaction affected the Td5 values of nanocomposites. TGA and LOI results indicated that the char yield (29 wt%) increased and the nanocomposites were not very flammable (LOI = 30). The hybrid materials also exhibited high thermal stability, good flame-retardance and a lack of phase separation.