Electrical, mechanical and thermal properties of graphene nanoplatelets reinforced UHMWPE nanocomposites

Fahad Alam, M. Choosri, Tejendra K. Gupta, K. M. Varadarajan, D. Choi, S. Kumar

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

77 Scopus citations

Abstract

Here, we report the electrical, mechanical and thermal properties of ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) nanocomposites reinforced with 0.1 wt% to 10 wt% of graphene nanoplatelets (GNP). The electrical conductivity of GNP/UHMWPE nanocomposites shows percolation threshold at 3.0 wt% of GNP. A significant increase in electrical conductivity from 10 −15 S cm −1 for neat UHMWPE to 10 −5 S cm −1 at 3.0 wt% GNP loading of GNP/UHMWPE nanocomposite (i.e. 10 orders of magnitude higher) is due to the formation of an almost three-dimensional conductive network. The highest value of electrical conductivity (1.09 S cm −1 ) is observed at 10.0 wt% of GNP loading. The elastic modulus and yield strength increase by 30% and 21%, for the addition of 0.5 wt% and 1.0 wt% of GNP, respectively, while fracture toughness and the ultimate tensile strength decrease significantly above 0.5 wt% GNP loading. This study demonstrates the fabrication of GNP/UHMWPE bio-nanocomposites, which exhibit electrical properties useful for smart biomedical implants.

Original languageBritish English
Pages (from-to)82-91
Number of pages10
JournalMaterials Science and Engineering B: Solid-State Materials for Advanced Technology
Volume241
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2019

Keywords

  • Electrical properties
  • Graphene nanoplatelets
  • Mechanical properties
  • Thermal properties
  • UHMWPE

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