PRODUCTION AND STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF Ti3AlC2/Ti3C2 INCORPORATED EPOXY COMPOSITES

Abstract

Epoxy resins have been extensively used in a wide range of industrial applications owing to their superior properties like good electrical insulation, adhesiveness and high mechanical strength. They have moderate viscosity and curing temperatures lower than 200 °C, thus have been ideal candidates for protective coatings in electronic, aerospace and marine industries. In order to combine superior properties of epoxy with enhanced mechanical strength for bulk, structural applications, various nanomaterials including clays and graphite have been incorporated into epoxy resins. However, sufficient level of enhancement in mechanical strength and thermal resistance could not be provided due to excessive agglomeration of nanosized particles. Agglomeration limited the wettability of particles by the monomer, leading to decreased polymerization efficiency at the polymer-reinforcer interface. In this study, the aluminum layer in Ti3AlC2 (MAX (312); ternary carbides), was chemically etched leaving a layered structure possessing graphene-like electrical conductivity (Ti3C2) with good mechanical strength. Both, MAX and MXene were incorporated into epoxy monomer at identical ratios. The incorporation of Ti3C2 layers resulted in disappearance of (002) peak in XRD analysis. This indicated the delamination of MXene layers inside epoxy matrix. The glass transition temperature (Tg) of epoxy shifted from 175 to 180 °C and 183 °C by 4 wt. % incorporation of MAX and MXene respectively. The microhardness increased from 18.9 ± 1.8 to 27.5 ± 5 when 4 wt. % MXene, and to 20.6 ± 2.9 when 4 wt. % MAX incorporated. This study indicates that it is possible to produce highly reinforced MXene/epoxy composites and use them in structural applications while the agglomeration is prevented.