On the Mechanical Properties of Copper Oxide (CuO)-Decorated Graphene Oxide/Epoxy Nanocomposites

The primary aim of this study was to determine the influence of CuO-decorated graphene oxide nanoplatelets (CuO@GONPs) loading (0.05, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7 wt.%) on the flexural and wear properties of epoxy-matrix nanocomposites. It is worth noting that the Copper (II) chloride (CuCl2) was used as a nano-CuO generator on the surface of the GONPs in the presence of NaOH. Various analyses such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Atomic-force microscopy (AFM), Raman spectra, and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) confirmed the successful synthesizing of the CuO@GONPs hybrid. The results of the flexural tests revealed that the highest obtained flexural strength and flexural modulus belonged to the specimens containing 0.3 wt.% and 0.5 wt.% CuO@GONPs, with 51.8% and 21.3% enhancements respectively, as compared to the neat epoxy. The wear test results showed that adding 0.5 wt.% CuO@GONPs into the epoxy matrix was caused to decrease the wear rate and friction coefficient by 87.4% and 29.6%, respectively. Additionally, the CuO@GONPs/epoxy nanocomposite denoted better flexural and wear behaviors than the pristine GONPs/epoxy one. Overall, the controlled introduction of the CuO@GONPs hybrid into the epoxy matrix was found to be an effective strategy for enhancing its flexural and wear properties.