Introduction and State of the Art

The most important benefits expected from the nanosilica reinforcement are the following (i) lower viscosity of the resin formulation compared to common reinforcing fillers and a complete suppression of sedimentation, (ii) increased fracture toughness, impact strength, and modulus, (iii) improved scratch- and abrasion-resistance, (iv) reduced shrinkage upon curing and reduction of the coefficient of thermal expansion, (v) improved dielectric properties, (vi) improve- 

The following section deals with the exact description of the preparation of nanosilica-reinforced epoxies by the sol-gel technique, and of the relation of their structure to various rheological, mechanical, and tribological properties. 

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