Mechanical Properties and Thermal Conductivity of Epoxy Resin Reinforced with Functionalized Graphene Nanosheets and Woven Glass Fabric

The reinforcing effects of functionalized graphene sheets (FGSs) on thermosetting epoxies are examined to understand the feasibility of these FGSs–epoxy nanocomposites in composite applications. The nanocomposites are prepared by compression molding with different graphene contents (0, 1, and 3 wt%) and different chemical treatments including FGSs and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanosheets. In addition, two silane molecules (octyltriethoxysilane [OTES] and glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane [GPTMS]) are used as coupling agents. Morphological analysis shows that the use of functionalized graphene oxide nanosheets in woven glass fabric/epoxy nanocomposites significantly improves the dispersion distribution of graphene nanosheets inside the matrix and increases their interfacial adhesion. The results reveal that the nanocomposites containing functionalized graphene nanosheets show the most promising improvement in terms of thermal and mechanical properties. In particular, Young's modulus increases by up to 17% and 25% with only 3% of functionalized graphene oxide using OTES and GPTMS, respectively. The result of the water droplet contact angle of the nanocomposites reinforced by graphene oxide functionalized by octyltriethoxysilane (OTES) shows an increase to a value of 105.80, indicating the super hydrophobic nature.