Enhanced thermal and mechanical properties of epoxy composites by mixing thermotropic liquid crystalline epoxy grafted graphene oxide

Graphene oxide (GO) sheets were chemically grafted with thermotropic liquid crystalline epoxy (TLCP). Then we fabricated composites using TLCP-g-GO as reinforcing filler. The mechanical properties and thermal properties of composites were systematically investigated. It is found that the thermal and mechanical properties of the composites are enhanced effectively by the addition of fillers. For instance, the composites containing 1.0 wt% of TLCP-g-GO present impact strength of 51.43 kJ/m(2), the tensile strength of composites increase from 55.43 to 80.85 MPa, the flexural modulus of the composites increase by more than 48%. Furthermore, the incorporation of fillers is effective to improve the glass transition temperature and thermal stability of the composites. Therefore, the presence of the TLCP-g-GO in the epoxy matrix could make epoxy not only stronger but also tougher.