Thermal and mechanical properties enhancements obtained by reinforcing a bisphenol-a based phthalonitrile resin with silane surface-modified alumina nanoparticles

Abstract

A new type of nanocomposites based on a high performance bisphenol-A phthalonitrile resin and surfacemodified alumina nanoparticles was prepared by a hot compression molding technique. The effect of adding different amounts of the reinforcing phase on the thermal and mechanical properties of the resulting nanocomposites was investigated. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that the starting decomposition temperatures and the residual weight at 8008C were highly improved upon adding the nanofillers. At 15 wt% nanoloading, the glass transition temperature and the storage modulus were considerably enhanced, reaching 3468C and 3.4 GPa, respectively. The tensile strength and modulus as well as the microhardness values increased with the increasing amount of the nanoparticles. The tensile modulus calculations were investigated using Series, Halpin-Tsai, and Kerner models. Haplin-Tsai model was found to reproduce the experimental data with the best accuracy. Estimation of the nanofillers shape factors for both Haplin-Tsai and Kerner models significantly improved the precision of the cited predictive models. The fractured surface of the nanocomposites analyzed by SEM exhibited homogeneous and rougher surfaces compared to that of the pristine resin. Finally, this new kind of nanocomposites is a highly attractive candidate for use in advanced technological applications such as the aerospace and military fields.POLYM. COMPOS., 00:000-000, 2015.

High performance nanocomposites from Ti3SiC2 MAX phase and phthalonitrile resin

“…The maximum packing fraction of the reinforcing phase in the matrix is designated by φ. The thermal conductivity of the MAX phase and the Poisson's ratio of the PN matrix were measured as 60 W/m.K and 0.31, respectively .…”

“…The silane surface modification was proven to ameliorate the state of dispersion and adhesion of the particles inside the PN matrices . A detailed discussion about the efficiency of the particles treatment was presented in our previous work and will not be further discussed herein . The treatment procedure was performed as follows: the native Ti 3 SiC 2 nanoparticles were placed in a vacuum oven for over 5 h to remove any moisture adsorbed at their surfaces.…”

“…The PN resins were effectively used as high performance matrices for ceramic based micro and nanocomposites and improvements in the neat resins properties were obtained. For instance, silicon carbide (SiC), silicon nitride (Si 3 N 4 ), and alumina (Al 2 O 3 ) induced huge enhancements in the thermal and mechanical properties of the neat PN resins . The anticorrosive properties of the neat PN resin were also enhanced by adding Titania (TiO 2 ) nanoparticles and ZnO further improved the UV shielding performances of the PN matrix .…”

New model phthalonitrile resin system based on self‐promoted curing reaction for exploring the mechanism of radical promoted‐polymerization effect

“…Phthalonitrile resin (PN resin) is a high performance polymer with excellent properties such as high temperature resistance, chemical resistance, low water absorption, and flame retardancy . These excellent properties make PN resins potentially useful in the field of composites, adhesives, and carbon precursors, and have received wide attention from researchers .…”

Oligomeric phthalonitriles and tetrakis(phenylethynyl)benzene blends with improved processing and thermal properties

“…Alternatively, PN resins can be doped with additional phases to improve performance. Heterogeneous phases, such as carbon or ceramic fillers, are often used to augment the mechanical, thermal, and anticorrosion properties of PN resins, however, material improvements can also be accomplished by blending PN resins with additional polymeric phases without the added complexity required for the inclusion of heterogeneous phases. Different types of blended PN resins have been explored including mixing PNs with thermoplastic polymers to improve thermal and mechanical properties.…”