Effect of Heat Assisted Bath Sonication on the Mechanical and Thermal Deformation Behaviours of Graphene Nanoplatelets Filled Epoxy Polymer Composites

Abstract

Graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) filled epoxy composites ranged from 0.2 to 5 vol.% were prepared in this study using simple heat assisted bath sonication for better GNP dispersion and exfoliation. The effects of GNP filler loading via heat assisted bath sonication on the mechanical properties and thermal deformation behaviour were investigated. Improvements on flexural strength and fracture toughness up to 0.4 vol.% filler loading were recorded. Further addition of GNP filler loading shows a deteriorating behaviour on the mechanical properties on the composites. The bulk electrical conductivity of the epoxy composites is greatly improved with the addition of GNP filler loading up to 1 vol.%. The thermal expansion of epoxy composites is reduced with the addition of GNP; however poor thermal stability of the composites is observed.