A new analytical approach was proposed to monitor the reaction between epoxidized soybean oil and diethylene glycol in the presence of ZnCl2 as an epoxide ring opening catalyst for microwave assisted synthesis of polyol. Infrared spectra of the products were used as the input data, being processed by multivariate curve resolution – alternating least squares (MCR-ALS) for quantitative monitoring. The data obtained in different MW powers were analyzed by MCR factor analysis coupled with ALS optimization procedure. Standard deviation of residuals for experimental data and the variance explained at the optimum condition (r2) were 0.135 and 97.24% respectively.

In this study, flooring grade epoxy/nanoSiO2 nanocomposites were prepared by in-situ polymerization method. Nano silica was treated by coupling agent in order to surface treating and introducing of reactive functional groups to achieving adequate bonding between polar inorganic nano particles and epoxy organic polymer. ?-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane (Amino A-100) was used as an effective and commercially available coupling agent and nano silica treated in acetone media. SEM observations of cured samples revealed that the nano silica was completely dispersed into polymer matrix into nanoscale particles. Thermal and physical properties of prepared samples were investigated and data showed improvements in physical and mechanical properties of the flooring samples in comparison with unfilled resin.