Self-healing of epoxy nanocomposites using Diels-Alder adduct grafted graphitic nanoplatelets

In this research article, Diels-Alder (DA) reaction triggered self-healing of epoxy polymer-based nanocomposites has been demonstrated by surface functionalization of graphitic nanoplatelets (GNPs) with thermo-reversible bismaleimide (BMI). The flexural properties of the DA based self-healing polymers are very poor due to brittle matrix which has been improved by using functionalized graphene along with healing efficiency. The self-healing hybrid matrix of the polymer composites were synthesized by adding thermo-reversible bismaleimide resin in thermo-irreversible epoxy resin to gain both flexural properties and healing performance. The surface functionalization of the GNPs was confirmed from transmission electron microscope (TEM). The thermal property of the hybrid matrix confirmed from thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and molecular architecture of the GNPs were confirmed from Fourier Transform Infra-red Spectroscopy (FTIR), respectively. The flexural properties of the composites were found to be increased by similar to 21% and maximum healing efficiency was observed as similar to 75% due to incorporation of the functionalized GNPs. Thus, this work demonstrates for the first time an innovative method to improve mechanical and healing efficiency of the nanocomposites.