Epoxy/p‐phenylenediamine functionalized graphene oxide composites and evaluation of their fracture toughness and tensile properties |
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Authors: | Abdelrahman Hussein Sourav Sarkar Dongkwon Oh Kwangju Lee Byungki Kim |
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Affiliation: | 1. School of Mechatronics Engineering, Korea University of Technology and Education, Cheonan, Chungnam, Republic of Korea;2. School of Mechanical Engineering, Korea University of Technology and Education, Cheonan, Chungnam, Republic of Korea |
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Abstract: | In an attempt to enhance the mechanical properties of epoxy/graphene‐based composites, the interface was engineered through the functionalization of graphene oxide (GO) sheets with p‐phenylenediamine; this resulted in p‐phenylenediamine functionalized graphene oxide (GO–pPDA). The morphology and chemical structure of the GO–pPDA sheets were studied by spectroscopic methods, thermal analysis, X‐ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. The characterization results show the successful covalent functionalization of GO sheets through the formation of amide bonds. In addition, p‐phenylenediamine were polymerized on graphene sheets to form crystalline nanospheres; this resulted in a GO/poly(p‐phenylenediamine) hybrid. The mechanical properties of the epoxy/GO–pPDA composite were assessed. Although the Young's modulus showed improvement, more significant improvements were observed in the strength, fracture strain, and plane‐strain fracture toughness. These improvements were attributed to the unique microstructure and strong interface between GO–pPDA and the epoxy matrix. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43821. |
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Keywords: | composites functionalization of polymers graphene and fullerenes mechanical properties nanotubes |
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