Arun Kumar Rout

BisGMA/EPDM/amine functionalised MWCNTs based nanocomposites

Purpose – This paper aims to focus on the development and study properties of bisphenol-A glycidyldimethacrylate (BisGMA) and ethylene–propylene–diene monomer (EPDM) blend-based nanocomposites containing amine-functionalised multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT-NH2) as a compatibiliser. Design/methodology/approach – First, BisGMA was synthesised from epoxy and methacrylic acid followed by the amine functionalisation of MWCNTs. A novel two-roll milling technique was then conducted to prepare nanocomposite specimens with MWCNT-NH2 as compatibiliser. Effect of MWCNT-NH2 content on the mechanical, thermal, electrical, corrosive and water absorption properties of the nanocomposites was investigated and results have been reported. Findings – The results of the present work reveal that MWCNT-NH2 acts as a potential compatibiliser and nanofiller in BisGMA/EPDM blend-based nanocomposites. The authors report here that the nanocomposites exhibit improved mechanical, thermal and electrical properties with increased a...

Functionalized Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes-Reinforced Vinylester/Epoxy Blend Based Nanocomposites: Enhanced Mechanical, Thermal, and Electrical Properties

This paper presents a study on the mechanical, thermal, and electrical characterization of a new class of low cost multiphase nanocomposites consisting of Vinylester resin/epoxy (VER/EP) blend (40 : 60 w/w) reinforced with amine functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (f-MWCNTs). Five different sets of VER/EP nanocomposites are fabricated with addition of 0, 1, 3, 5, and 7 wt.% of f-MWCNTs. A detailed investigation of mechanical properties like tensile strength, impact strength, Young’s modulus, and hardness, thermal properties like thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and thermal conductivity, electrical properties like dielectric strength, dielectric constant, and electrical conductivity, and corrosive and swelling properties of the nanocomposites has been carried out. Here, we report significant improvement in all the above properties of the fabricated nanocomposites with nanofiller (f-MWCNTs) addition compared to the virgin blend (0 wt. nanofiller loading). The properties are best observed in case of 5 wt.% nanofiller loading with gradual deterioration thereafter which may be due to the nucleating tendency of the nanofiller particles. Thus the above nanocomposites could be a preferable candidate for a wide range of structural, thermal, electrical, and solvent based applications.