Investigation of Properties Graphene Reinforced Epoxy Nanocomposites

Abstract

In recent years, graphene has attracted the attention of scientists and industry due to its superior electronic, thermal and mechanical properties and has been used in different fields and advanced applications. Graphene and its derivatives have also attracted great interest in the field of polymer composites, since the use of graphene as a small amount of additive brings about advanced properties to the polymers. Therefore, in this study, graphene was added to the epoxy at certain rates (0.05%, 0.1%, 0.25%, 0.5% and 1%) to obtain nanocomposites with improved electrical conductivity and mechanical properties. The properties of obtained nanocomposite films were examined by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), mechanical test, scanning electron microscope (SEM), UV-Vis-NIR spectrophotometer and electrical conductivity measurements. 1% graphene additive caused a 28.2% decrease in the volumetric resistance and 9.7% in the surface resistance of the nanocomposite films. The maximum tensile value of graphene/epoxy nanocomposites was obtained as similar to 20 MPa by increasing 33.84% in 1% graphene additive compared to neat epoxy-based nanocomposites. As a result, it has been observed that as the amount of graphene added to the epoxy increases, the electrical conductivity, tensile values and light absorption of nanocomposite films increase. The nanocomposite films obtained can be used in industrial applications thanks to the improved electrical conductivity and mechanical properties.