Effect of short-term water exposure on the mechanical properties of halloysite nanotube-multi layer graphene reinforced polyester nanocomposites.

Saharudin, Mohd Shahneel; Atif, Rasheed; Inam, Fawad

Abstract

The influence of short-term water absorption on the mechanical properties of halloysite nanotubes-multi layer graphene reinforced polyester hybrid nanocomposites has been investigated. The addition of nano-fillers significantly increased the flexural strength, tensile strength, and impact strength in dry and wet conditions. After short-term water exposure, the maximum microhardness, tensile, flexural and impact toughness values were observed at 0.1 wt % multi-layer graphene (MLG). The microhardness increased up to 50.3%, tensile strength increased up to 40% and flexural strength increased up to 44%. Compared to dry samples, the fracture toughness and surface roughness of all types of produced nanocomposites were increased that may be attributed to the plasticization effect. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the main failure mechanism is caused by the weakening of the nano-filler-matrix interface induced by water absorption. It was further observed that synergistic effects were not effective at a concentration of 0.1 wt % to produce considerable improvement in the mechanical properties of the produced hybrid nanocomposites.

Citation

SAHARUDIN, M.S., ATIF, R. and INAM, F. 2017. Effect of short-term water exposure on the mechanical properties of halloysite nanotube-multi layer graphene reinforced polyester nanocomposites. Polymers [online] 9(1), article 27. Available from: https://doi.org/10.3390/polym9010027

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 10, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Jan 14, 2017
• Publication Date: Jan 31, 2017
• Deposit Date: Apr 5, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 5, 2022
• Journal: Polymers
• Electronic ISSN: 2073-4360
• Publisher: MDPI
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 9
• Issue: 1
• Article Number: 27
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/polym9010027
• Keywords: Nanocomposites; Halloysite nanotubes; Multi-layer graphene; Water absorption; Mechanical properties
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1635223
• Related Public URLs: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1616327
• Additional Information: An earlier preprint version of this article was made available at https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints201701.0024.v1