Synthesis and characterization of novel hybrid composites using nanofiller-nanofibrous coating for industrial applications

Abstract

Composite materials are gaining popularity because of their superior properties compared to traditional materials. However, further improvements can be made by adding nanoparticles as nanocoating and nanofiller with the composite materials for different industrial applications. In this study, a Kevlar fibre mat has been coated by nanoparticles. In addition to this, different nanofillers have also been added. Various mechanical, physical, morphological, and thermal characterization techniques have been performed to characterize the synthesized composites. Five different samples were made where graphenenanocomposites showed the highest mechanical properties in hardness, tensile, bending, and compression. Around 15%, 35%, 120% and 170% improvement was obtained in hardness, tensile, bending and compression due to graphene incorporation compared to the composite without nanopartilces reinforcement.The minimum void fraction was obtained from the sample prepared without nanoparticles, which was 2.9%. The nanocoated surfaces of the composites were smoother and had a better surface finish with the uniform distribution of nanoparticles. The addition of graphene and other nanoparticles increased the crystallinity and binding energy of the composites. Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy analysis identified the presence of different functional groups. The addition of nanoparticles increased the thermal stability significantly.