Preparation and characterization of PU/GNPs nanocomposites foam

Mohd Nor, Afifah Raihana (2017) Preparation and characterization of PU/GNPs nanocomposites foam. Project Report. Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Melaka, Malaysia. (Submitted)

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Abstract

Polyurethane is a versatile material which can be thermoset and thermoplastic based on their chemical structure. Thermoset polyurethane foams (PU) have been widely used for light weight applications. Thus, this research was carried out to develop PU foams reinforced with graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs). The purpose of reinforce the PU with GNPs nanofiller is to enhance the mechanical and thermal properties of PU based foams. The PU/GNPs nanocomposites foams were produced by using ultrasonication and solution compounding methods. The selection of optimum composition for PU foam matrix is based on the GNPs loadings. Therefore, in this study, different loading of GNPs (0.00 wt%, 0.25 wt%, 0.50 wt%, 1.00 wt%, 3.00 wt%, and 5.00 wt%) were used to investigate the mechanical and thermal properties of produced PU/GNPs nanocomposites foams. Later, the fracture surface morphology of the selected mechanical tested specimen were analyzed by using an SEM and OM observation tools. At the end of this study, the higher mechanical strength and thermal performance of PU/GNPs nanocomposites foams were developed and proposed. It was found that at 0.25 wt% of GNPs addition, the produced PU/GNPs nanocomposites foams were successfully enhanced the mechanical characteristics of nanocomposites foams in terms of their flexural and compression behaviour. This scenario was applicable to the thermal improvement. PU/GNPs nanocomposites foams with 0.25 wt% of GNPS inclusion had yielded an extraordinary improvement about 52.28 % in the flexural properties, and 3.00 % of compression strength. Other than that, GNPs addition was significantly improved the thermal stability by yielded about 38 % of residue with 5.00 wt% of GNPs addition. This research is significantly important as it could to provide another alternative for advanced materials which utilizing the advantages of nanotechnology for many possible high performance applications like in automotive, aerospace, and maritime fields.

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