Gbadeyan Oluwatoyin Joseph, Adali Sarp, Bright Glen, Sithole Bruce
School of Engineering, Discipline of Mechanical Engineering, University of Kwazulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa.
School of Engineering, Discipline of Chemical Engineering, University of Kwazulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa.
Polymers (Basel). 2022 Jan 18;14(3):365. doi: 10.3390/polym14030365.
This study investigated the comparative reinforcement effect of snail shell nanoparticles, montmorillonite, and kaolinite nanoclay on greenpoxy. Greenpoxy nanocomposites of snail shell nanoparticles, montmorillonite, and kaolinite nanoclay were developed separately, with the nanofiller content ranging from 1 to 3% by weight. Specimens of the nanocomposites with different percentage weights of the nanoparticles were prepared using the resin casting method. Mechanical properties, such as the tensile strength, stiffness, hardness, and impact strength, and water absorption properties of the specimens were evaluated experimentally. It was observed that the incorporation of nanoparticles improved the mechanical properties of pure greenpoxy irrespective of the percentage weight, source, and type of reinforcement. Significantly, the loading of 1 wt.% of snail shell nanoparticles offered superior properties in most cases. Protein fibers and high-concentration calcium carbonate in snail shell nanoparticles, uniform dispersion, and excellent matrix/snail shell nanoparticle adhesion provided a strong structure, resulting in the high strength, stiffness, and decreased water uptake of the composites. The superior properties observed in snail shell nanoparticle composites suggest that this naturally sourced nanofiller can be used as a potential substitute for montmorillonite and kaolinite clays.
本研究调查了蜗牛壳纳米颗粒、蒙脱石和高岭土纳米粘土对绿色环氧树脂的比较增强效果。分别制备了蜗牛壳纳米颗粒、蒙脱石和高岭土纳米粘土的绿色环氧树脂纳米复合材料，纳米填料含量按重量计为1%至3%。使用树脂浇铸法制备了具有不同纳米颗粒重量百分比的纳米复合材料试样。对试样的拉伸强度、刚度、硬度和冲击强度等力学性能以及吸水性进行了实验评估。观察到，无论增强材料的重量百分比、来源和类型如何，纳米颗粒的加入都改善了纯绿色环氧树脂的力学性能。值得注意的是，在大多数情况下，添加1 wt.%的蜗牛壳纳米颗粒具有优异的性能。蜗牛壳纳米颗粒中的蛋白质纤维和高浓度碳酸钙、均匀分散以及优异的基体/蜗牛壳纳米颗粒附着力提供了坚固的结构，导致复合材料具有高强度、高刚度并降低了吸水率。在蜗牛壳纳米颗粒复合材料中观察到的优异性能表明，这种天然来源的纳米填料可作为蒙脱石和高岭土粘土的潜在替代品。
