Tensile properties of epoxy/1 wt% graphene nanocomposites prepared with ethanol

In this research, solution casting technique was applied to produce four types of nanocomposites. Different ethanol dosages; 0g, 1g, 3g, and 5g were used to disperse graphene in the epoxy matrix. It was observed that 1g dosage of ethanol was the most effective concentration to disperse 1wt% graphene in the epoxy matrix. At 1 g dosage of ethanol used, the Young’s modulus, tensile strength, and toughness were increased by 130%, 76%, and 187% respectively. SEM images illustrated that the graphene was able to inhibit the advancing cracks and detoured cracks propagation. It is observed that the ethanol needs to be removed completely during processing to ensure its effectiveness, otherwise, the remaining ethanol can cause porosity which is undesirable to the tensile properties of the nanocomposites.