Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia. gandhi.naveen66@gmail.com
  • 2 Laboratory of Bio composite Technology, Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products (INTROP), Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia. jawaid_md@yahoo.co.in
  • 3 Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia. edisyam@upm.edu.my
  • 4 Laboratory of Bio composite Technology, Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products (INTROP), Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia. thariq@upm.edu.my
  • 5 Science and Technology Research Institute for Defence, Kajang 43000, Selangor, Malaysia. adr266@gmail.com
Materials (Basel), 2019 Apr 16;12(8).
PMID: 30988270 DOI: 10.3390/ma12081249

Abstract

This research investigated the effect of adding different wt.% (0, 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75) of GNP (graphene nanoplatelets) to improve the mechanical and moisture resistant properties of Kevlar (K)/cocos nucifera sheath (CS)/epoxy hybrid composites. The laminates were fabricated with different K/CS weight ratios such as 100/0 (S1), 75/25 (S2), 50/50 (S3), 25/75 (S4), and 0/100 (S5). The results revealed that the addition of GNP improved the tensile, flexural, and impact properties of laminated composites. However, the optimal wt.% of GNP varies with different laminates. A moisture diffusion analysis showed that the laminates with a 0.25 wt.% of GNP content efficiently hindered water uptake by closing all the unoccupied pores inside the laminate. Morphological investigations (SEM and FE-SEM (Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope)) proved that the addition of GNP improved the interfacial adhesion and dispersion. Structural (XRD and FTIR) analyses reveals that at 0.25 wt.% of GNP, all the hybrid composites showed a better crystallinity index and the functional groups presents in the GNP can form strong interactions with the fibers and matrix. A statistical analysis was performed using One-way ANOVA, and it corroborates that the mechanical properties of different laminates showed a statistically significant difference. Hence, these GNP-modified epoxy hybrid composites can be efficiently utilized in load-bearing structures.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.