Impact of electron beam irradiation (EBI) on the thermo-mechanical properties of green synthesized Bio-AgNPs/EP nanocomposites

Bio-created metallic nanoparticles with polymer composites have gained increased importance owing to their ability to improve the thermomechanical properties of polymers without compromising their environmental footprint. In this study, the effect of electron beam irradiation (EBI) on the thermal conductivity and hardness of Bio-AgNPs/EP nanocomposites was investigated. The synthesized Bio-AgNPs were characterized using UV–Vis spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy, XRD, AFM, and SEM. Up to 30 wt% Bio-AgNPs were loaded into an epoxy matrix, and some samples of epoxy-based nanocomposites with 5, 10, and 20 wt% Bio-AgNPs were treated with doses of electron-beam radiation from 25 to 200 kGy. The synthesized Bio-AgNPs exhibited a face-centered cubic (fcc) crystal structure with a surface plasmon resonance band at 404–407 nm. The optical band gap increased from 2.45 to 2.73 eV as the synthesis temperature was raised from 70 to 80 °C, which improved the formation of nanoparticles. The thermal conductivity gradually increased as the Bio-AgNP loading increased and was enhanced by approximately 22% at 30 wt% Bio-AgNP loading, and the hardness showed an enhancement of around 255% with the increase in loading of Bio-AgNP. Electron beam irradiation also enhanced the composite performance, with the highest hardness achieved at 20 wt% Bio-AgNPs/EP nanocomposite with 75 kGy irradiation dose and a gradual decrease in the hardness was observed at higher irradiation dose. The results show that the Bio-AgNP reinforcement method developed using green synthesis and optimized EBI treatment can produce high-performance epoxy nanocomposites with promising thermal management and engineering applications.