A review on polymer–layered silicate nanocomposites

https://imechanica.org/files/Thostenson-Li-Chou-05-CST.pdf

Nanocomposites in context

The objective of this review is to make the field of “flame retardants for polymer materials” more accessible to the materials science community, i.e. chemists, physicists and engineers. We present the fundamentals of polymer combustion theory, the main flame retardant properties and tests used to describe fire behavior, together with the nature and modes of action of the most representative flame retardants and the synergistic effects that can be achieved by combining them. We particularly focus on polymer nanocomposites, i.e. polymer matrices filled with specific, finely dispersed nanofillers, which will undoubtedly pave the way for future materials combining physicochemical and thermo-mechanical performances with enhanced flame retardant behavior.

New prospects in flame retardant polymer materials: From fundamentals to nanocomposites

A review of the present and future utilisation of FRP composites in the civil infrastructure with reference to their important in-service properties

Graphene, a single-atom-thick sheet of sp-bonded carbon atoms, has generatedmuch interest due to its high specific area and novel mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties. Recent advances in the production of bulk quantities of exfoliated graphene sheets from graphite have enabled the fabrication of graphene–polymer composites. Such composites show tremendous potential for mechanical-property enhancement due to their combination of high specific surface area, strong nanofiller–matrix adhesion and the outstanding mechanical properties of the sp carbon bonding network in graphene. Graphene fillers have been successfully dispersed in poly(styrene), poly(acrylonitrile) and poly(methyl methacrylate) matrices and the responses of their Young’s modulus, ultimate tensile strength, andglass-transition temperaturehave been characterized. However, to the best of our knowledge there is no report on the fracture toughness and fatigue properties of graphene–polymer composites. Fracture toughness describes the ability of a material containing a crack to resist fracture and it is a critically important material property for design applications. Fatigue involves dynamic propagation of cracks under cyclic loading and it is one of the primary causes of catastrophic failure in structural materials. Consequently, the material’s resistance to fracture and fatigue crack propagation are of paramount importance to prevent failure. Herein we report the fracture toughness, fracture energy, and fatigue properties of an epoxy polymer reinforced with various weight fractions of functionalized graphene sheets. Remarkably, only 0.125% weight of functionalized graphene sheets was observed to increase the fracture toughness of the pristine (unfilled) epoxy by 65% and the fracture energy by 115%.Toachievecomparableenhancement,carbonnanotube (CNT) and nanoparticle epoxy composites require one to two orders of magnitude larger weight fraction of nanofillers. Under fatigue conditions, incorporation of 0.125% weight of functionalized graphene sheets drastically reduced the rate of crack propagation in the epoxy 25-fold. Fractography analysis

Fracture and fatigue in graphene nanocomposites

Fracture toughness and water uptake of high-performance epoxy/nanoclay nanocomposites

Organoclay-modified high performance epoxy nanocomposites

Hybrid epoxy nanocomposites modified with carboxyl-terminated butadiene acrylonitrile (CTBN) rubber and organoclay were synthesized. The morphology of those nanocomposites was studied with X-ray diffraction (XRD), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The results showed that most of the organoclay in the nanocomposites was exfoliated and high cure temperatures benefit the formation of exfoliated nanocomposites. Organoclay simultaneously improved fracture toughness, compressive modulus, yield strength and ultimate strength of the epoxy resin. Organoclay not only enhanced T g , yield strength and ultimate strength of rubber-modified epoxies, but also further improved their fracture toughness. There was a superposition effect on fracture toughness of the hybrid epoxy nanocomposites modified with both rubber and organoclay.

Weiping Liu

Papers

Fracture toughness and water uptake of high-performance epoxy/nanoclay nanocomposites

Organoclay-modified high performance epoxy nanocomposites

Morphology and performance of epoxy nanocomposites modified with organoclay and rubber

Water uptake of epoxy–clay nanocomposites: Experiments and model validation

Water uptake of epoxy–clay nanocomposites: Model development