Abstract
Phase morphology and its effects on mechanical properties have been investigated for ternary composites in tetrafunctional epoxy resin-poly(ethersulphone) thermoplastics blends and A12O3 inorganic filler systems. Different microstructures were found to be occurred as the concentration of the thermoplastic component and the inorganic filler was varied. Young's modulus measurement, glass temperature analysis and SEM observation clearly showed the existence of phase separation in the blends depending on the concentration of Al2O3 filler and poly(ethersulphone) content. This different microstructure was discussed in terms of thermodynamics parameter. And, the relationship between the microstructure and mechanical properties was explored. The results suggested that the control of microstructure leads to improved mechanical properties of epoxy composites for high performance applications.
