Influence of graphene nanoplatelets (GnPs) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) hybrid fillers on the mechanical, thermal, and morphological performance of polypropylene (PP) based hybrid composites

Abstract

The main objective of the present study was to investigate the influence of graphene nanoplatelets (GnPs), Titanium dioxide (TiO2), and its hybrid filler on the mechanical, thermal, and morphological characteristics of polypropylene (PP) based hybrid composites for structural applications. The PP-based hybrid composites were prepared using a twin-screw extruder for different filler compositions and then molded into tensile specimens with a mini-jet injection molding setup. Tensile, thermal, and morphological analyses were performed to determine the hybrid capability of the PP-based composites. The results showed that the values of tensile modulus and tensile yield strength show significant improvement at about ∼24% and ∼17%, while the values of elongation at break show a slightly decreasing trend for the hybrid composites compared to PP composites. The thermal stability analysis shows that the higher the hybrid filler content, the higher the temperature. Further, the SEM micrographs for the hybrid fillers show good dispersion onto the PP matrix, which may increase the interfacial adhesion between PP and fillers, thus enhancing the mechanical and thermal properties of PP-based hybrid composites.