Effects of TiO₂/SiO₂ Reinforced Nanoparticles on the Mechanical Properties of Green Hybrid Coating

Titanium and silica oxides nanoparticles were introduced into hybrid silica sol–gel/epoxy coating to enhance the mechanical properties of coatings. Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) and silica oxide (SiO₂) were chemically synthesised before adding to the prepared silica sol gel coating. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Energy-dispersive x-ray analysis (EDX) and Transmission Electron microscope (TEM) were used to characterize the prepared nanoparticles. The coating was then applied to 3003 aluminium alloy (AA3003) surface. The adhesion performance of different sol gel coating compositions was investigated using shear test to define the influence of nanoparticles on adhesive strength of the coating. The Rockwell C hardness test was used to study the micro-hardness of different compositions of sol gel coating. Also, contact angel was used to investigate the hydrophobicity of the coatings. The results showed that there was a significant improvement of the adhesion performance of hybrid silica sol gel coating due to addition of TiO₂ and the hydrophobicity of sol gel coating was increased due to addition of SiO₂ nanoparticles.