Thermal Curing Process Research Articles

Photothermal synergistic curing of one-component epoxy resin adhesive based on active monomer mechanism

ABSTRACT One-component epoxy resin adhesives with Ethylamine-boron trifluoride (BF3-MEA) have become popular choices for electronic applications due to their lower curing temperatures and excellent storage stability. However, in the traditional thermal curing process for these adhesives, which relies on the Active Chain End (ACE) mechanism, the formation of cyclic oligomers can compromise their mechanical performance. In this study, we prepared a series of novel one-component adhesives using Diglycidyl-4,5-epoxy-cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylate (TDE-85) epoxy resin, Bis [4-(diphenylsulfonio) phenyl] sulfide bis (hexafluoroantimonate) (Photoinitiator 1176), and BF3-MEA through blending, and successfully achieved photothermal dual-curing. We systematically explored various adhesive ratios and curing conditions. Compared to adhesives treated solely by thermal curing, those subjected to photothermal dual-curing exhibited the best shear strength of 13.9 ± 0.7 MPa and a hardness of 88 ± 4 Shore A, representing improvements of 118.2% and 18.9%, respectively. Additionally, the study demonstrated that hydroxyl groups produced by photocuring effectively inhibit the ACE mechanism and promote the Active Monomer (AM) mechanism, which becomes dominant. In summary, the photothermal synergistic curing approach, with the AM mechanism as dominant, prevents the formation of cyclic oligomers and enhances mechanical performance. This study offers a new approach for adhesives used in electronic devices.

Radiation-induced cross-linking polymerization: Recent developments for coating and composite applications

Abstract Radiation-initiated cross-linking polymerization of multifunctional monomers is an attractive method used for drying solvent-free liquid coatings, inks, and adhesive as well as for fabricating high-performance composite materials. The method offers a number of advantages compared with thermal curing processes. Free radical and cationic polymerization have been investigated in detail over the past years. A high degree of control over curing kinetics and material properties can be exerted by adjusting the composition of matrix precursors and/or by acting on the process parameters (overall dose, dose rate, dose increment, initial temperature). Several pending issues that require deeper investigations are as follows: (i) the fast polymerization of multifunctional monomers generates micro-heterogeneous networks requiring detailed characterization and quantification by microscopic, thermal, and spectroscopic analyses; (ii) the adhesion and surface properties of radiation-cured coatings are quite sensitive to processing parameters; and (iii) significant enhancement of the toughness is needed to qualify potential matrices based on simple difunctional monomers for high-performance composites. Recent results show that the bulk and surface properties of radiation-cured materials can be improved by advanced formulation of matrix precursors and by a parametric study of the processing factors.

From cement to geopolymers: Performances and sustainability advantages of ambient curing

The production of Portland cement results in substantial carbon emissions. Geopolymers are regarded as highly promising alternative binder materials to cement due to their low energy consumption and excellent mechanical properties. However, it should be noted that the thermal curing process of geopolymers diminishes their low-carbon advantage. In this study, ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) was used to replace metakaolin (MK) by the ratio of 10 %, 20 %, 30 %, 40 %, and 50 % to produce geopolymers. The aim was to examine the impact of GGBS content on the thermal curing performance of MK-based geopolymers. The microstructure of the specimens was analyzed using SEM and XRD analysis techniques. Lastly, a comprehensive assessment of their sustainability potential was carried out. As a result, slag may increase flow spread, decrease the setting time, and effectively improve the mechanical properties which curing on ambient temperature. The group with 50 % slag content had the highest compressive and flexural strengths, reaching 55.9 MPa and 8.45 MPa at 28 d, respectively. The drying shrinkage of geopolymers increases as the GGBS content goes up. Notably, owing to the evolution of chemical transformation and gel structure, MK exhibits a significant mitigation on shrinkage. Ultimately, with a 50 % slag content, the carbon dioxide emissions of geopolymer can be reduced to 265.36 kg CO2-eq, which is a 43.6 % decrease compared to that of OPC. With a comprehensive consideration of the performance and sustainability potential of geopolymers, it is recommended to introduce GGBS content in the range of 30 %–40 %.

Effects of blending poly (polyol sebacate) and poly (polyol adipate) bioelastomers for soft tissue engineering in biomedical applications

AbstractIn this article, the synthesis of four novel bioelastomers known as poly (xylitol sebacate) (PXS), poly (xylitol adipate) (PXA), poly (sorbitol sebacate) (PSS), and poly (sorbitol adipate) (PSA) was carried out through bulk polymerization, followed by their blending using the solution method. Six blends were prepared namely PXS25/PSS75, PXS50/PSS50, PXS75/PSS25, PXS50/PXA50, PSA50/PXA50, and PSS50/PSA50. After blending, a thermal curing process was applied to the samples. The intrinsic viscosity, density, Tg, hydrophilicity, degradation, wound healing, and mechanical properties of polymers and blends were measured to investigate the effects of blending. Analyzing hardness, modulus, stress at breakpoint, degradation, and hydrophilicity data showed that the mechanical properties of bioelastomers are adjustable by blending for tissue engineering. Furthermore, the scratch assay proved the biocompatibility of pure polymers and indicated that blending does not have a negative impact on this matter.

Influence of curing temperature and pressure on the mechanical and microstructural development of metakaolin-based geopolymers

This research investigates the mechanical and microstructural evolution of a metakaolin-based geopolymer (GP) subjected to combined temperature and pressure curing conditions. The study's methodology encompassed measuring compressive strengths through both ultrasonic cement analysis (UCA) and destructive uniaxial testing. To evaluate thermal stability, pore size distribution, and morphology, the study employed thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), and environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), respectively. The findings indicate that a curing temperature of 90 °C encourages the development of regular nanoporosity, while higher temperatures contribute to increased porosity. Conversely, curing pressure was found to either promote or inhibit the material's reorganization, with pressures of 20 MPa facilitating and those above 40 MPa preventing this process. An enhancement in the refinement of macropores to micropores was observed across all pressure levels. The optimal curing conditions, in terms of both mechanical and morphological characteristics, were identified as 50 °C and 20 MPa for a minimum duration of one day, which yielded a 177 % improvement in compressive strength compared to curing at 21°C under atmospheric pressure. This study significantly advances the understanding of pressurized thermal curing processes for the rapid setting of geopolymers, presenting new avenues for diverse applications.

Bio-based flame retardant for manufacturing fire safety, strong yet tough versatile epoxy resin

Bio-based flame retardants have attracted growing attention for sustainability and comparable efficiency to petroleum-based counterparts but suffer from compatibility issues with epoxy resins and the trade-off between strength and toughness. Here, a Schiff base-derived phosphorus-based flame retardant (TV-DOPO) was developed from biobased vanillin and tyramine. In the presence of the binary curing agents, nanoscale in-situ constructive phase separation induced by hierarchical thermal curing process and strong hydrogen bonding provide the composite resin with enhanced both stiffness and toughness. The flexural and impact strengths reached 159 MPa and 55.4 kJ m−2, which were increased by 36.5% and 129.6%, respectively, compared with the pristine epoxy, meanwhile excellent flame retardance was well maintained (UL-94 V-0 rating). Remarkably, these conjugated phosphaphenanthrene-containing composite resins demonstrate excellent UV-shielding capacity and optical transmittance. In this work, in-situ construction of a crosslinked network with tunable size of phase separation domains can be simply achieved by modulating the ratio of binary curing agents, to fabricate epoxy resins with all-around enhanced performance.

BUBBLE DEFECTS AND CONTROL OF THERMAL CURING OF WATERBORNE RESIN COATINGS

To solve the problem of bubble retention leading to a decrease in the performance of waterborne resin coatings during thermal curing, a rapid thermal curing coating based on an aqueous epoxy-modified acrylic resin containing an amino resin cross linker was synthesized through solution copolymerization. Using a synchronous thermal analyzer, the mass loss and heat flow during the thermal curing process of the coating was measured. In addition, an in situ thermal curing visualization system was used to observe the curing behavior at the easy-open end notches under different heating rates. The results indicated that the curing process is divided into an initial rapid heating stage and a subsequent slower heating stage by the boiling point of water, with a critical temperature range of 126-150°C. The visualization experiments showed that when the temperature reached 100°C, the water quickly evaporated to form bubbles. Increasing the heating rate before this temperature caused the bubbles to rapidly escape. Therefore, an optimal heating profile with a rapid initial heating rate of 3.13°C/s, followed by a slower heating rate of 0.52°C/s in the next stage, is proposed. This discovery is of great significance for optimizing the thermal curing process of waterborne coatings on metal substrates, including those used for easy-open ends.

Ultraviolet-thermal coupling cross-linked fabricate polymer/ceramic composite solid electrolyte for room temperature quasi solid state lithium ion batteries

Polymer-based electrolyte, as a key component of lithium ion solid state battery, has good adaptability to lithium metal anode, and has received extensive attention in recent years. However, the low conductivity, limited thermal stability and poor mechanical strength of polymer-based solid electrolytes restricting its commercial application. Herein, We reveal experimentally that the Polyvinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene (PVDF-HFP)/Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7(PO4)3 (LATP) composite solid electrolyte can be prepared by means of ultraviolet and thermal coupling curing (UV-TC) process, and the electrolyte film has better electrochemical performance than that prepared by means of thermal curing (TC) process. Therefore, the carefully designed electrolyte film is efficiently prepared by UV-TC curing process to improve the specific capacity (152.34 mAhg−1), the rate performance (89.04 mAhg−1 at 1 C) and good cycle performance (92.3 % retention rate in 100 cycles at 0.1 C) at room temperature for Li||PVDF-HFP/LATP||LFP solid state battery. The ionic conductivity of the solid electrolyte film prepared by the UV-TC method (4.3 × 10−4 S cm−1) is more encouraging than that of the TC method (9.2 × 10−5 S cm−1). This work shows that the polymer/ceramic composite solid electrolyte films (CSEs) prepared by simple and efficient UV-TC method has great prospects in realizing high energy density and high safety room temperature quasi solid state lithium ion batteries.

Study on the heating mechanism and macro/micro properties of composite materials under microwave curing

AbstractCompared to composite components prepared by traditional thermal process, microwave‐cured laminates exhibit superior mechanical properties under the same heating cycle, indicating a unique heating mode that differs from air circulation. To progressively replace the thermal curing process with microwave technology in the aerospace composites manufacturing field, it is crucial to elucidate the heating mechanism of microwave‐cured composite materials. In this study, the microwave absorbing performance of both carbon fibers and epoxy resins was systematically compared and revealed. Drawing upon principles of organic chemical reaction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, the results demonstrated the swift response of carbon fibers to microwaves, which facilitated heightened functional group transformation and more complete curing reactions at the fiber‐matrix interface. Notably, as indicated by the results of the three‐point bending tests and fiber push‐in tests, microwave‐cured laminates displayed enhanced interlaminar and interfacial bonding properties in comparison to thermally cured counterparts, resulting in a 10.74% increase in interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) and a 20.23% rise in interfacial shear strength (IFSS).Highlights Carbon fibers exhibits a more pronounced ability to absorb microwaves than resins. Microwave‐cured laminate achieves a higher degree of curing reaction. Microwave curing enhances the ILSS and IFSS of composite materials.

Effects of heat treatment on the microstructure and flexural mechanical properties of carbon fiber reinforced composite cured by electron beam

Carbon fiber (CF)-reinforced composite materials are attracting attention in the automobile and aerospace industries based on their light weight and excellent mechanical properties. Electron beam curing technology is replacing the thermal curing process and can improve productivity by shortening the curing time of CF-reinforced composite materials to minutes. However, the electron beam-cured CF-reinforced composite materials have weak flexural strength. We have found that the deterioration of flexural strength of electron beam-cured CF-reinforced composites can be solved by heat treatment in a vacuum bag prior to the electron beam curing process. Through heat treatment under vacuum, the viscosity of the matrix resin was lowered, and voids between the laminated surfaces of the CF prepregs could be removed. Through this approach, the flexural strength of the electron beam cured composite material reached 1.6 GPa, which was approximately 65% improved compared to the non-heat treated material. In addition, the energy distribution transmitted when the composite material is irradiated with an electron beam was simulated using the Geant4 code. It was confirmed that the nonlinear distribution of energy transmitted to the inside of the specimen according to the electron beam energy should be carefully considered in the design of the product shape and when setting the electron beam irradiation conditions.

2D gradient and correlation FTIR analyses for optimizing thermal curing process of commercial-grade polyurethane coatings for automotive interior parts

Soft-feel coatings for automotive interior parts are a crucial factor in consumer purchase preferences owing to the growing awareness of human sensibility ergonomics. Herein, the thermal curing of commercial-grade polyurethane (PU) coatings was optimized using advanced spectroscopic tools. Conventional FTIR spectra were collected at various curing temperatures and times, and analyzed using two-dimensional (2D) gradient maps and 2D correlation spectroscopy (2D COS); while the former demonstrates the spectral variation trend with curing time, the latter provides whole spectral sequences that inform the cure reaction mechanism. The thermal curing continued for 50 min at 60 and 70 °C, and was halted after 30 min above 80 °C. According to the 2D COS and kinetic model fitting, the cure reaction was initiated by solvent evaporation and followed nucleation and growth mechanisms. PUs cured at lower temperatures were ductile owing to incomplete reactions, whereas PUs cured above 80 °C exhibited brittle features. Consequently, the optimal curing process was determined to be at 80 °C for 30 min. The 2D FTIR analytic tools can be useful in the development of high-quality soft-feel coatings for automotive interior parts.

Mechanism of bonding, surface property, electrical behaviour, and environmental friendliness of carbon/ceramic composites produced via the pyrolysis of coal waste with polysiloxane polymer

A simple mixing-pressing followed by thermal curing and pyrolysis process was used to upcycle coal waste into high-value composites. Three coal wastes of different physicochemical properties were investigated. The hypothetical mechanisms of bonding between the coal particles and the preceramic polymer are presented. The textural properties of the coals indicated that the lowest volatile coal waste (PCD) had a dense structure. This limited the diffusion and reaction of the preceramic polymer with the coal waste during pyrolysis, thereby leading to low-quality composites. The water contact angles of the composites up to 104° imply hydrophobic surfaces, hence, no external coating might be required. Analysis of the carbon phase confirmed that the amorphous carbon structure is prevalent in the composites compared to the coal wastes. The dc volume resistivity of the composites in the range of 22 to 82 Ω-cm infers that the composites are unlikely to suffer electrostatic discharge, which makes them useful in creating self-heating building parts. The leached concentrations of heavy metal elements from the composites based on the end-of-life scenario were below the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure regulatory limits. Additionally, the release potential or mobility of the metals from the composites was not influenced by the pH of the eluants used. On the basis of the reported results, these carbon/ceramic composites show tremendous prospects as building materials due to these properties.Graphical

Effects of silver epoxy reinforcement on graphene nanoplatelets functionalized surface in pool boiling heat transfer enhancement

Silver Epoxy reinforcement is pivotal to enhance the adhesive strength of Graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) on the substrate. This experimental study seeks to scrutinize the effects of Silver Epoxy reinforced GNP functionalized surface on the heat transfer of pool boiling. Three different GNP-based coatings are analyzed: simple GNP, uncured GNP reinforced with Silver Epoxy, and cured GNP reinforced with Silver Epoxy, all applied to copper substrate. For each coating, the surface morphology, chemical bonding, and wettability are examined. Under a heat flux of 550 kW/m2, the experimentally derived heat transfer coefficient improves by 194%, 36%, and 77% respectively on pristine GNP, uncured GNP/Epoxy, and cured GNP/Epoxy compared to the bare copper surface. The epoxy reinforcement weakens the exceptional boiling improvement achieved by a GNP functionalized surface. Although the thermal curing process turns the GNP/epoxy coating from hydrophobic to hydrophilic and recovers partly the level of boiling enhancement, the biphilicity of GNP tends to dominate boiling heat transfer enhancement by enhancing the bubble dynamics. The hydrophilicity has a subordinate effect by re-wetting the dry spots and preventing the vapour blanket. Silver Epoxy reinforcement significantly enhances the adhesive strength of GNP on a substrate but at the expense of boiling heat transfer enhancement.

Biocompatible poly(glycerol sebacate) base segmented co‐polymer with interesting chemical structure and tunable mechanical properties: In vitro and in vivo study

AbstractIn this study, different polycaprolactone (PCL) soft blocks were incorporated into poly(glycerol sebacate) (PGS) structure to prepare a series of PGS‐based elastomers with a wide range of chemical compositions, mechanical properties, and modulated degradation behavior. The PGS and PGS‐co‐PCL elastomers were prepared under a thermal curing process in the absence of any catalysts. Here, in addition to the effect of different lengths of PCL block, the effect of thermal curing time on the mechanical properties and degradation behavior of the elastomers was investigated. The synthesized PGS‐co‐PCL elastomers exhibited tunable mechanical properties in the range of soft tissues. Moreover, the in vitro degradation study revealed linear degradation kinetics with approximately twofold decrease in the elastomers degradation rate. In vitro study showed that proliferation of human olfactory ecto‐mesenchymal stem cells (OE‐MSCs) was supported on PGS‐co‐PCL elastomer. In addition, in vivo evaluation of PGS‐co‐PCL elastomer confirmed mild tissue response with high angiogenesis, indicating a good candidate in various biomedical applications and soft tissue engineering.

Optimizing the Conductivity of a New Nanoparticle Silver Ink for Aerosol Jet Printing and Demonstrating Its Use as a Strain Gauge

Aerosol Jet Printing (AJP) shows promise for printable electronics and additive manufacturing as it is capable of printing conformally on nearly any substrate due to its direct write patterning, non-contact printing process, and compatibility with a wide range of printing materials. However, nearly all printed inks require some form of post-processing sintering to achieve acceptable properties, such as electrical conductivity. In this paper, a design of experiment (DOE) using Van der Pauw printed pads is presented which can be applied to characterizing any conductive ink. We focus on a new silver nano-particle ink from NovaCentrix (JS-A426) that was developed specifically for aerosol jet printing and study its electrical conductivity under a variety of sintering time and temperature conditions. From these results, a linear regression model is developed that accurately predicts the experimentally measured electrical conductivity of the printed ink. This DOE characterization process and resulting predictive model are especially useful for applications requiring limited thermal budgets, such as flexible electronics. SEM images are also used to analyze how the silver particles coalesce and densify due to thermal diffusion. Finally, the above results are used to design and fabricate an in-situ miniature strain gauge sensor using the NovaCentrix JS-A426 silver nano-particle ink on a thin flexible substrate. After printing and sintering, the miniature custom strain gauge had a nominal resistance of 355 Ω and a gauge factor of 1.74. These values are similar to commercial metal foil strain gauges and demonstrate that the aerosol jet printing is a viable manufacturing process for the production of custom miniature in-situ strain gauges. Advantages of this methodology include quick prototyping, custom digital design, conformal printing on essentially any surface, elimination of any adhesive layer, and manufacturing in less than a minute. This work is also the first to characterize the JS-A426 silver nano-particle ink thermal curing process and demonstrate its use as a viable sensing element using direct write aerosol jet printing.

A novel form stable phase change material with comb-like cross-linked polyurethane as supporting skeleton

To improve the homogeneity of phase-change materials (PCMs) composites for thermal energy storage, the poly(ethylene glycol monomethyl ether)-based trimethylolpropane (Ymer-N120) with long side ethyoxyl chains is employed to form comb-like polyurethane which functioned as supporting materials for PCMs. And the results of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, accelerated thermal cycling testing, thermogravimetric analysis and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) suggested a crosslinked polyurethane embedded with micron grade myristic acid (MA) crystals was prepared during the thermal curing process. The obtained comb-like polyurethane (YP) can provide 3D structure supporting materials for melting MA. And the long side ethyoxyl chain of Ymer-N120 promote the melting MA form micron-sized crystals. The results of thermal reliability testing confirmed the advantages of same methylene groups in side chains and suggested the maximal hold capability of YP crosslinks is about 50 wt% of composites. With the 50 wt% addition of MA, YPM50 can supply high latent heat (over 90 J/g of YPM50) with fine thermal stability (due to its initial decomposing temperature reaches 190 °C) without leakage (after 500 times of accelerated thermal cycling testing). All results indicated this structure supplies an effective solution for the leakage of PCMs, which show a promising application in TES.

Lead(II) sulfide micro‐crystals doped graphene nanosheets dispersed thermoplastic and multifunctional poly(benzoxazines) cured epoxy resin nanocomposites for medium temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell applications

AbstractThe amphiphilic polybenzoxazines‐co‐epoxy membrane (POPBOs/PTGP) was created by thermally cross‐linking the multi‐functional octylamine‐based benzoxazine monomer (OPBOs) with synthesized 1,3,5‐tris(oxiran‐2‐yl methoxy)benzene epoxy monomer (TGP). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, powder x‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy were used to investigate the functionality, crystallinity, and morphology of microcrystal lead(II) sulfide (PbS)/graphene nanosheets (mPbS/GNs). The bare POPBOs/PTGP and different amounts of mPbS/GNs dispersed polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) were obtained from the thermal curing process. Following that, these PNCs were used in medium‐temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells. The water uptake, ion exchange capacity (IEC), swelling ratio, oxidative stability, and proton conductivity (PC) of bare and loaded mPbS/GNs hybrid nanostructures on POPBOs/PTGP composite membranes were determined. 3 wt% mPbS/GNs distributed with POPBOs/PTGP PNCs exhibit the highest IEC value of 3.61 mmol/g−1 at room temperature, and a PC value of around 6.33 × 10−2 S/cm−1 at 120°C was obtained for the POPBOs/PTGP PNCs. In addition, the single‐cell electrode analysis of the 3 wt% mPbS/GNs‐filled POPBOs/PTGP amphiphilic PNCs showed excellent peak power density and open circuit voltage values of 0.897 W cm−2 and 0.97 V at 120°C.

Kneading-Dough-Inspired Quickly Dispersing of Hydrophobic Particles into Aqueous Solutions for Designing Functional Hydrogels.

Hydrogels containing hydrophobic materials have attracted great attention for their potential applications in drug delivery and biosensors. This work presents a kneading-dough-inspired method for dispersing hydrophobic particles (HPs) into water. The kneading process can quickly mix HPs with polyethyleneimine (PEI) polymer solution to form "dough", which facilitates the formation of stable suspensions in aqueous solutions. Combining with photo or thermal curing processes, one type of HPs incorporated PEI-polyacrylamide (PEI/PAM) composite hydrogel exhibiting good self-healing ability, tunable mechanical property is synthesized. The incorporating of HPs into the gel network results in the decrease in the swelling ratio, as well as the enhancement of the compressive modulus by more than five times. Moreover, the stable mechanism of polyethyleneimine-modified particles has been investigated using surface force apparatus, where the pure repulsion during approaching contributes to the good stability of the suspension. The stabilization time of the suspension is dependent on the molecular weight of PEI: the higher the molecular weight is, the better the stability of the suspension will be. Overall, this work demonstrates a useful strategy to introduce HPs into functional hydrogel networks. Future research can be focused on understanding the strengthening mechanism of HPs in the gel networks.

Comparative study of microwave and thermal curing processes in terms of temperature characteristics and mechanical performance of carbon fibre composites

In this work, carbon fibre composites were manufactured using vacuum-assisted resin infusion microwave curing and vacuum-assisted resin infusion thermal curing processes. The microwave curing as well as thermal curing heat generation mechanisms were studied along with the thickness of the carbon fibre composites. Microwave power levels of 180 W, 360 W, 540 W and 720 W and thermal power levels of 1000 W and 2000 W were used. The K-type thermocouples were placed between the layers of the carbon fibres to record temperature profile during the curing process. The role of power levels was studied on thermal gradient along with the thickness of composites, which influences the curing kinetics. The composites were evaluated for their degree of cure, density and void percentage. Mechanical performance of the composites was assessed in terms of uniaxial tensile test, three-point bend test and interlaminar shear strength test. It was observed that microwave-cured composites were manufactured with less time and energy compared to thermal curing. The mechanical performance of microwave-cured composites was also better than thermally cured composites.

Preservable superhydrophilicity of thermally cured graphene-nanoplatelets/epoxy nanocomposite coatings

This study aims to preserve the superhydrophility and the ultrafast water permeation property of the thermally cured graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) coating after epoxy is added to enhance the adhesion of coating on its substrate. Addition of epoxy generally encourages the formation of carbon-carbon chain in the polymerization process during the thermal curing and the GNPs/epoxy nanocomposite becomes hydrophobic. On the other hand, the silver-filled epoxy can effectively suppress the crosslinking of carbon-carbon chain, enabling the thermo-oxidation process to take place where the oxygenated functional groups are attached on the edges of the GNPs. Hence, the use of silver-filled epoxy is capable to preserve the superhydrophilicity of GNPs. A series of comprehensive micro/nanoscopic and spectroscopic characterizations are performed to explain the significant difference in the wettability of the GNPs/epoxy nanocomposites. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are employed to elucidate the phenomena in the atomic resolution and nanosecond time scale. The MD results concur well with the characterization results, further verifying the proposed explanation of the interactions of carbon-filled epoxy and silver-filled epoxy with the graphene nanostructure during the thermal curing process. This study provides important insights into the analyses and characterization of the preservable superhydrophilicity of thermally cued GNPs/epoxy nanocomposites.