Research of more durable composite material
The journal Materials Chemistry and Physics has published new research on the effective increase in strength, stiffness and toughness of epoxy modified with polymer-grafted graphene oxide. This modified epoxy can be used in the future to prepare more durable composite materials. Researchers from the various departments across the IMC collaborated on the research.
Scientists from the IMC have worked on the development of a bimodal modification of the graphene and epoxy systems for eight months. They followed up on an annual study dealing with a simple modification of graphene by different types of polymers. "The combination of a solid and tough interfacial layer with a similarly-modified epoxy matrix is a promise for the preparation of composites with higher impact resistance," says the main author of the publication, Dr. Ivan Kelnar, Head of the Department of Nanostructured Polymers and Composites. Interdisciplinary cooperation across departments of the IMC included preparation (Dr. M. Janata) and analysis of a modified graphene (Dr. J. Dybal, Dr. A. Zhigunov) together with the preparation of epoxy nanocomposites (Ing. L. Kaprálková) and study of their structure (Dr. S. Krejčíková, Dr. A. Zigunov).
