Open AccessEnhanced thermal and mechanical properties of epoxy composites by mixing thermotropic liquid crystalline epoxy grafted graphene oxide
Author(s) -
Bo Qi,
Shaorong Lu,
Xiane Xiao,
Leilei Pan,
Fuat Tan,
Jinhong Yu
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
express polymer letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.695
H-Index - 72
ISSN - 1788-618X
DOI - 10.3144/expresspolymlett.2014.51
Subject(s) - epoxy , materials science , thermotropic crystal , composite material , graphene , oxide , mixing (physics) , thermal , liquid crystalline , polymer , nanotechnology , metallurgy , physics , quantum mechanics , meteorology
Graphene oxide (GO) sheets were chemically grafted with thermotropic liquid crystalline epoxy (TLCP). Then we fabricated composites using TLCP-g-GO as reinforcing filler. The mechanical properties and thermal properties of composites were systematically investigated. It is found that the thermal and mechanical properties of the composites are enhanced effectively by the addition of fillers. For instance, the composites containing 1.0 wt% of TLCP-g-GO present impact strength of 51.43 kJ/m2, the tensile strength of composites increase from 55.43 to 80.85 MPa, the flexural modulus of the composites increase by more than 48%. Furthermore, the incorporation of fillers is effective to improve the glass transition temperature and thermal stability of the composites. Therefore, the presence of the TLCP-g-GO in the epoxy matrix could make epoxy not only stronger but also tougher