Areca fiber/epoxy nano-composite reinforced with amine-functionalized nano-alumina-enhancement in thermal and thermo-mechanical properties

Abstract

In this study, diglycidyl ethers of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) epoxy resin and areca fiber (AF) [80:20] composite having various weight percentages (1, 2 and 3 wt%) of amine-functionalized nano-alumina (F-Al) were cured at room temperature using polyamidoamine curing agent (XY54). The F-Al acted as an adhesion promoter through its amine groups on the surface was confirmed using FT-IR. Different weight percentages of F-Al were reinforced into DGEBA/AF to improve the thermal, mechanical, and thermo-mechanical properties of DGEBA/AF epoxy nano-composite by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA). The surface morphology of pristine (DGEBA) epoxy matrix, DGEBA/AF composites, and DGEBA/AF/F-Al nano-composite was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques. The 2 wt% addition of F-Al nano reinforcement found to improve the thermal, mechanical, and thermo-mechanical properties of DGEBA/AF nano-composites. • Fabrication of F-Al reinforced acrea fiber epoxy nano-composites • Enhanced mechanical and thermal properties of the F-Al/acrea fiber epoxy nano-composites • It can be used in automobile, industrial and engineering applications