Nonisothermal Kinetic Degradation of Hybrid CNT/Alumina Epoxy Nanocomposites
Muhammad Helmi Abdul Kudus, Muhammad Razlan Zakaria, Mohd Firdaus Omar, Muhammad Bisyrul Hafi Othman, Hazizan Md Akil, M. Nabiałek, B. Jež, Mohd Mustafa Al Bakri Abdullah
Abstract
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.