Assessing the Effect of Fe3O4 Nanoparticles on the Thermomechanical Performance of Different Forms of Carbon Allotropes/Epoxy Hybrid Nanocomposites

Abstract

The incorporation of ceramic nanoinclusions in carbon nanocomposites can induce additional functionality in the field of magnetic properties, piezoelectricity, etc. In this study, series of nanocomposites, consisting of different carbon nanoinclusions (carbon black, MWCNTs, graphene nanoplatelets, nanodiamonds) and magnetite nanoparticles incorporated into a commercially available epoxy resin were developed varying the filler type and concentration. Experimental data from the static tensile tests and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) demonstrated that the elastic tensile modulus and storage modulus of hybrid nanocomposites increase with an increase in filler content up to almost 100% due to the inherent filler properties and the strong interactions at the interface between the epoxy matrix and the nanoinclusions. Strong interactions are implied by the increasing values of the glass transition temperature recorded by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). On the contrary, tensile strength and fracture strain of the nanocomposites were found to decrease with filler content. The results highlight the potentials and capabilities of developing hybrid multifunctional nanocomposites with enriched properties while holding their structural integrity.