based on silver nanoparticles synthesized in situ are investigated. There is a nonmonotonic dependence of the
mechanical properties on the concentration of silver myristate used as a precursor. It is found for the first time
that the breaking strength and elastic modulus increase by a factor of 1.8–1.5 relative to those of the unmodified
matrix at a small concentration of precursor nanoparticles (on the order of 0.1wt%). DSC and thermomechan-
ical studies reveal that the glass-transition temperature decreases slightly (by 5–6
C) as the precursor concen-tration is increased to 0.5 wt %, thereby suggesting a weak plasticization of the modified epoxy matrix. On the
basis of the spectrophotometry data measured in the region of surface plasmon resonance of silver nanoparticles
(420–425 nm) and SEM data, it is inferred that the in situ strengthening of an epoxy nanocomposite based on
epoxy resin ED-20, triethylamine, and silver myristate is attained because silver nanoparticles smaller than 20
nm in size and having a narrow particle-size distribution are formed during curing.