Evaluation of mechanical and thermal properties of Multi-Walled Carbon Nano-tube/Graphene hybrid nano-composite

Multi-walled carbon nano-tube (MWCNT)-graphene (GR) hybrid nano-composite were developed using the solution blending technique, to characterize mechanical and thermal properties using universal testing machine (UTM) and thermogravimetric analyses (TGA). Improvement in tensile strength, Young’s modulus and elongation at break was one significant synergistic effect that MWCNT & GR had on Ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM)-Butyl rubber (BR), after their incorporation. Compatibility between the nano-fillers and the elastomers led to improvement of thermal stability as analyzed from TGA results. Significant improvement in residual mass percentage of the hybrid nanocomposites was observed, as compared to pristine EPDM-BR samples. All this indicates that EPDM-BR hybrid nano-composites will find use in many advanced mechanical applications like strain sensors, motion-controlled gaming, home rehabilitation, soft robotics, vibration control etc.