Nonisothermal Kinetic Degradation of Hybrid CNT/Alumina Epoxy Nanocomposites

• Published in: Metals (Basel ) Vol. 11; no. 4; p. 657
• Main Authors: Kudus, Muhammad Helmi Abdul, Zakaria, Muhammad Razlan, Omar, Mohd Firdaus, Hafi Othman, Muhammad Bisyrul, Md. Akil, Hazizan, Nabiałek, Marcin, Jeż, Bartłomiej, Abdullah, Mohd Mustafa Al Bakri
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-04-2021
• Subjects: Activation energy; Alumina; Aluminum oxide; Approximation; CNT hybrid; Decomposition; epoxy; kinetic; lifetime; Methods; Nanocomposites; Nitrogen; Polymers; Synergistic effect; Temperature; Tensile properties; Thermal conductivity; Thermal degradation; Thermogravimetric analysis; Germany
• ISSN: 2075-4701; 2075-4701
• DOI: 10.3390/met11040657

Due to the synergistic effect that occurs between CNTs and alumina, CNT/alumina hybrid-filled epoxy nanocomposites show significant enhancements in tensile properties, flexural properties, and thermal conductivity. This study is an extension of previously reported investigations into CNT/alumina epoxy nanocomposites. A series of epoxy composites with different CNT/alumina loadings were investigated with regard to their thermal-degradation kinetics and lifetime prediction. The thermal-degradation parameters were acquired via thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) in a nitrogen atmosphere. The degradation activation energy was determined using the Flynn–Wall–Ozawa (F-W-O) method for the chosen apparent activation energy. The Ea showed significant differences at α > 0.6, which indicate the role played by the CNT/alumina hybrid filler loading in the degradation behavior. From the calculations, the lifetime prediction at 5% mass loss decreased with an increase in the temperature service of nitrogen. The increase in the CNT/alumina hybrid loading revealed its contribution towards thermal degradation and stability. On average, a higher Ea was attributed to greater loadings of the CNT/alumina hybrid in the composites.