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A simple method to produce graphene-Yytria stabilised zirconia (YSZ) ceramic composite with significant improvement in electrical properties is reported here. The material was consolidated by annealing in presence of Argon gas that allowed densification of the ceramics. A detailed x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was used to study the phases and crystallinity of graphene-YSZ ceramic composite. XRD patterns of the sintered composite showed that graphene diffraction peaks were detected at 2θ≈27°. Furthermore, experimental results indicate that electrical conductivity of YSZ composites drastically increased with the addition of graphene platelets, and it reached a value of 2.8 S/cm at 2 wt.%.

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Recently, there has been an inclination towards natural fibre reinforced polymer composites owing to their merits such as environmental friendliness, light weight and excellent strength. In the present study, six laminates were fabricated consisting of natural fibres such as Kenaf fibre (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) and Bamboo fibre, together with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as reinforcing fillers in the epoxy matrix. Mechanical testing revealed that hybridization of natural fibres was capable of yielding composites with enhanced tensile properties. Additionally, impact testing showed a maximum improvement of ≈80.6% with the inclusion of MWCNTs as nanofiller in the composites with very high energy absorption characteristics, which were attributed to the high specific energy absorption of carbon nanotubes. The viscoelastic behaviour of hybridised composites reinforced with MWCNTs also showed promising results with a significant improvement in the glass transition temperature (Tg) and 41% improvement in storage modulus. It is worth noting that treatment of the fibres in NaOH solution prior to composite fabrication was effective in improving the interfacial bonding with the epoxy matrix, which, in turn, resulted in improved mechanical properties.

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