Development of new graphene/epoxy nanocomposites and study of cure kinetics, thermal and mechanical properties

Sheikh Rehman, Sufyan Akram, Antonios Kanellopoulos, Ahmed Elmarakbi, Panagiotis Karagiannidis

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Citations (Scopus)
35 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

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.
Original languageEnglish
Article number178785
JournalThermochimica Acta
Volume694
Early online date1 Oct 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2020

Keywords

  • Graphene/Epoxy Nanocomposites
  • Differential Scanning Calorimetry
  • Mechanical Properties
  • Nanoindentation

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