Epoxy resin with both ultraviolet shielding and enhanced thermal mechanical properties: Study on synergistic modification of Ce-Zr-Si oxide nanoparticles and basalt fibers.

Composites with good thermomechanical and UV-shielding properties are essential in fiber-reinforced composites. This paper focuses on composites' ultraviolet (UV) shielding efficiency with added Ce-Zr-Si oxide nanoparticles/epoxy resin. The Ce-Zr oxide nanoparticles were first functionalized with a silicon coupling agent and ethyl silicate to improve their dispersion and surface activity. In this work, we prepared epoxy nanocomposites with the addition of Ce-Zr -Si oxides(1,3,5,7 wt%) and found that the materials had good enhancement of the UV shielding properties of the epoxy resin matrix. Meanwhile, it was used in basalt fiber (BF)/epoxy composites prepared by the hot-pressing method, and surface treatment of basalt fibers was carried out. The results showed that the modified fiber composites could effectively enhance the thermomechanical properties of epoxy resin composites. It is noteworthy that the tensile strength and flexural strength of the hybrid composites reached their peak when 5 wt% Ce-Zr-Si was added, increasing by 13.8% and 33.67% respectively. The modified (BF)/epoxy composites exhibited improved thermal stability compared to pure epoxy resin, with the maximum weight loss temperature of BF-1/EP reaching 349°C. The T(UVA) decreased to 2.41%, while the T(UVB) decreased to 0.053%, and almost all the ultraviolet irradiation was blocked. These results show that our prepared composites have good thermomechanical and UV shielding properties. Highlights • Ce-Zr oxide nanoparticles were functionalized with a silicon coupling agent. • Ce-Zr-Si oxide was added to enhance the ultraviolet shielding efficiency. • Modified BFs were composited to improve thermomechanical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]