A study on graphene based elastomer with TiO2 and Ni nanoparticles

Nanotechnology is a field of science that has wide range of potential applications in various sectors of engineering. By cutting down the size of a particle to nanoscale, its surface area to volume ratio will increase and more atoms or molecules are available to take part in chemical reaction. The mechanical, chemical, electrical and thermal properties of the polymers can be enhanced by incorporating nanomaterials as fillers. In this work, a polymeric nanocomposite has been prepared by incorporating fillers, reduced graphene oxide (r-GO), TiO2 nanoparticles and Ni nanoparticles into an elastomeric matrix that is natural rubber (NR). r-GO is added to improve the mechanical strength and the thermal conductivity of the nanocomposite. Significant improvement in tensile properties (strength, Young’s modulus and elasticity) has been observed during testing of samples prepared with various weight percent of r-GO, TiO2 and Ni nanoparticles. Enhancement in the mechanical properties (yield strength increased by 94 %, tensile strength increased by 147 %) has been achieved with a composition of 1.25 weight percentage of r-GO and TiO2 nanoparticles. Similar improvement has been observed with composition of 0.1 weight percent of TiO2 and Ni nanoparticles into the elastomer at the same composition of r-GO.