Mechanical, thermal and rheological properties of thermoplastic polymer nanocomposite reinforced with nanodiamond, carbon nanotube and graphite nanoplatelets

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ABSTRACT

The current exploration is oriented towards mechanical, thermal and rheological properties of high density polyethylene (HDPE) reinforced with the equivalent weight percentage (i.e. 0.1 wt.%) of nanodiamonds (NDs), carbon nanotube (CNTs) and graphite nanoplatelets (GNPs) nanofillers. The highest Young’s of 1.24 GPa is shown by 0.1 ND, which decreased by 4.03, 12.09 and 18.54% for 0.1 CNT, 0.1 GNP and pure, respectively. A similar trend was observed during hardness and fracture stress results; however, the highest yield stress is perceived for the 0.1 CNT composite. The improvisation in percentage of crystallinity value is noted for 0.1 ND composites that augmented the results of hardness value. The rheological investigation recorded the shear-thinning behaviour for all the samples from 10⁻¹ to 10² rad/s and the highest viscosity offered by 0.1 ND composite, which is in line with the results of the melt flow index. The results suggested that the addition of ND nanoparticles improvise mechanical, thermal and rheological properties and can be adapted as a suitable material for immediate application in the relevant industry.

KEYWORDS:

• Polymer matrix composites
• mechanical properties
• thermal properties
• rheological properties
• nanodiamonds

Acknowledgments

The research work is performed in the frame of a project supported by the Science and Engineering Board, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India through a project YSS/2014/001024.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Science and Engineering Research Board [YSS/2014/001024].