Investigation of mechanical and thermal properties of nanostructure-doped bulk nanocomposite adhesives

In recent years, findings in nanoscience and nanotechnology have deeply influenced many disciplines including the material and mechanical sciences. Polymers including nanostructures have attracted attention as their adoptions in general engineering composites have yielded efficient results. In this study, three different two-component (epoxy-hardener) adhesives were doped with graphene nanoplatelets, graphene oxide nanoplatelets, carbon nanotube, and fullerene C60 at three different rates (0.5%, 1%, and 2% by weight) and the mechanical and thermal properties of the nanocomposite adhesives were examined. The nanocomposite adhesives' mechanical properties were analyzed via tensile tests and thermal properties were analyzed via Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) thermograms and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) spectra. Results showed that doping nanostructures improve the stress-strain capacity of the adhesives. Both mechanical and thermal properties of the nanocomposite adhesives seem to change depending on the amount of nanostructure. Additionally, DSC and FT-IR curves showed an agreement with these improvements in the adhesives' mechanical properties.