TY - JOUR
T1 - Development of new graphene/epoxy nanocomposites and study of cure kinetics, thermal and mechanical properties
AU - Rehman, Sheikh
AU - Akram, Sufyan
AU - Kanellopoulos, Antonios
AU - Elmarakbi, Ahmed
AU - Karagiannidis, Panagiotis
PY - 2020/12/1
Y1 - 2020/12/1
N2 - New graphene/polymer nanocomposites were prepared using graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) and the epoxy system Epilok 60-566/Curamine 32-494. The GNPs were first dispersed into the curamine hardener using bath ultrasonication, followed by the addition of the epoxy resin. The cure kinetics were studied by DSC under non-isothermal and under isothermal conditions. The kinetic parameters of the curing process were determined using the non-isothermal Kissinger and Ozawa-Flynn-Wall models. The degree of curing increased with the addition of GNPs, while the activation energy decreased by 13.7% for the first reaction and by 6.6% for the second as obtained from Kissinger. An increase in thermal stability by the addition of GNPs was identified in the range of 360-580℃ using TGA. In terms of mechanical properties, addition of an optimum amount of 0.5%wt of GNPs in the hardener improved the Young’s Modulus by 37%. Nanoindentation measurements showed 9.4% improvement in hardness at 0.7%wt.
AB - New graphene/polymer nanocomposites were prepared using graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) and the epoxy system Epilok 60-566/Curamine 32-494. The GNPs were first dispersed into the curamine hardener using bath ultrasonication, followed by the addition of the epoxy resin. The cure kinetics were studied by DSC under non-isothermal and under isothermal conditions. The kinetic parameters of the curing process were determined using the non-isothermal Kissinger and Ozawa-Flynn-Wall models. The degree of curing increased with the addition of GNPs, while the activation energy decreased by 13.7% for the first reaction and by 6.6% for the second as obtained from Kissinger. An increase in thermal stability by the addition of GNPs was identified in the range of 360-580℃ using TGA. In terms of mechanical properties, addition of an optimum amount of 0.5%wt of GNPs in the hardener improved the Young’s Modulus by 37%. Nanoindentation measurements showed 9.4% improvement in hardness at 0.7%wt.
KW - Graphene/Epoxy Nanocomposites
KW - Differential Scanning Calorimetry
KW - Mechanical Properties
KW - Nanoindentation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85092658977&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.tca.2020.178785
DO - 10.1016/j.tca.2020.178785
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85092658977
SN - 0040-6031
VL - 694
JO - Thermochimica Acta
JF - Thermochimica Acta
M1 - 178785
ER -