Novel polyamide 12 based nanocomposites for industrial applications

Effect of Graphite Filler Type on the Thermal Conductivity and Mechanical Behavior of Polysulfone-Based Composites

The goal of this study was to create a high-filled composite material based on polysulfone using various graphite materials. Composite material based on graphite-filled polysulfone was prepared using a solution method which allows the achievement of a high content of fillers up to 70 wt.%. Alongside the analysis of the morphology and structure, the thermal conductivity and mechanical properties of the composites obtained were studied. Structural analysis shows how the type of filler affects the structure of the composites with the appearance of pores in all samples which also has a noticeable effect on composites’ properties. In terms of thermal conductivity, the results show that using natural graphite as a filler gives the best results in thermal conductivity compared to artificial and expanded graphite, with the reduction of thermal conductivity while increasing temperature. Flexural tests show that using artificial graphite as a filler gives the composite material the best mechanical load transfer compared to natural or expanded graphite.

Thermo-electrical behaviour of cyclic olefin copolymer/exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets nanocomposites foamed through supercritical carbon dioxide

In this work, novel electrically conductive cyclic olefin copolymer/exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets foams were prepared through a supercritical carbon dioxide treatment starting from the corresponding unfoamed materials prepared by melt compounding, in order to investigate their thermo-electrical properties. For both unfoamed and foamed samples, the exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets introduction led to a systematic enhancement of the thermal degradation temperature. Dynamic-mechanical thermal analysis revealed that the nanofiller addition promoted an enhancement of the storage modulus and of the glass transition temperature over the whole range of the applied foaming pressures. While for unfoamed materials exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets introduction determined an important decrease of the electrical resistivity, the foaming process induced the breakage of the conductive path, with a consequent increase of electrical resistivity. Evaluation of the surface heating upon voltage application showed that the surface temperature of unfoamed materials could be noticeably increased at relatively low voltage levels, while a less pronounced surface heating could be obtained with the corresponding nanocomposite foams.

Temperature Dependent Strain/Damage Monitoring of Glass/Epoxy Composites with Graphene as a Piezoresistive Interphase

Graphene as an interphase not only improves the mechanical performance of fiber reinforced polymer composites but also induces functional properties like electrical conductivity, thus providing the possibility of strain monitoring in real time. At this aim, graphene oxide (GO) was electrophoretically deposited at different applied potentials on glass fibers to create a uniform coating and was subsequently chemically reduced to obtain a conductive layer of reduced graphene oxide (rGO). After the optimization of the deposition process, composite laminates were prepared by hand lay-up with an epoxy resin, followed by curing in vacuum bag. The deposited rGO interphase improved the dynamic moduli (storage and loss modulus), the flexural strength (+23%), and interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) (+29%) of the composites. Moreover, laminates reinforced with rGO-coated glass fibers showed an electrical resistivity in the order of ~101 Ω·m, with a negative temperature coefficient. The piezoresistivity of the composites was monitored under flexural loading under isothermal conditions, and strain/damage monitoring was evaluated at different temperatures through the change of the electrical resistance with the applied strain.