Mechanical, Thermal, and Ablative Properties Between Graphene Oxide and Graphitic Carbon Nitride Based Carbon/Phenolic Composites: A Comparative Study

In this article, we investigated the interfacial, thermal and ablative properties of two nanofillers-filled carbon/ phenolic (CF/PR) composites. In particular, graphene oxide (GO) and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) were used to produce lowly loaded (0.1 wt%) composites. The ablative properties of the composites were researched through an oxygen-acetylene flame torch test and were characterized through analysis of the post-burning morphology, ablation depth and width. GO- and g-C3N4-filled composites showed 62.02 and 22.36% improvement in ablation resistance compared with the pristine, respectively, even with different mechanisms. The proposed mechanism of GO-filled composite is that GO may significantly contribute to increasing the graphitization of the fiber surface and further improving the thermal resistance to high-temperature ablation. However, thicker fiber diameter and charred layer of ablative zone in g-C3N4-filled composite can dissipate the flammable gases and improve the anti-oxidation. (C) 2018 Society of Plastics Engineers