Synergetic Effects of One and Two Dimension Nanofillers on the Mechanical Properties of Rubber Modified Epoxy Composites

Graphene nanoplatelets (GnP), Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (M-cnT), and Halloysite nanotubes (HnT) exhibit a noteworthy synergistic impact in enhancing the mechanical properties of carboxyl-terminated butadiene-acrylonitrile-modified Epoxy (cr-Ep) nanocomposites. These nanofillers were incorporated into cr-Ep to form mono and hybrid nanocomposites. The introduction of 1-D M-cnT efficiently inhibits the stacking of individual 2-D GnP and HnT. A high contact area is created between the GnP/HnT with M-cnT and the cr-Ep matrix by the high strength and high aspect ratio of M-cnT, which can bridge neighboring GnP/HnT and prevent their aggregation. The mechanical properties of mono and hybrid nanocomposites were characterized in this study. The results showed that the mechanical properties of nanofiller reinforced cr-Ep composites were significantly improved. The tensile strength of GnP/cr-Ep and HnT/cr-Ep composites over the unfilled cr-Ep was only 24.5% and 20.5% higher, whereas the tensile strength of M-cnT/GnP/cr-Ep and M-cnT/HnT/cr-Ep composites was 39.5% and 27.6% greater than that of the cr-Ep alone. The M-cnT/cr-Ep and M-cnT/GnP/cr-Ep nanocomposites exhibited flexural strengths of 29% and 34.8%, respectively, significantly increasing over the unfilled cr-Ep. In addition, the flexural modulus of these nanocomposites has increased by 35.9% and 33.8%. Furthermore, compared to GnP/cr-Ep, HnT/cr-Ep and M-cnT/HnT/cr-Ep nanocomposite, M-cnT/cr-Ep and M-cnT/GnP/cr-Ep composite's Izod impact energy produced superior impact resistance. The distinct structures of M-cnT and GnP considerably improved the comprehensive performance of M-cnT and hybrid reinforced M-cnT/GnP into cr-Ep composites, and the insertion of these nanoparticles realizes the effective bonding between nanofillers and cr-Ep. This work offers a novel and practical method for improving the bonding between the nanofiller and the cr-Ep composite.