Study of variation in physical and thermomechanical properties of Kevlar epoxy composite with bi-filler (NiCo2O 4 nanoparticles and wood sawdust) reinforcement

Abstract The advancement in the development of hybrid filler-reinforced composites widens its usability in structural applications as a replacement for conventional materials. Filler incorporation into the composites imparts out-of-the-ordinary enrichment to material properties and plays a significant role in enhancing its physical, mechanical, and thermal characteristics. In this work, Kevlar epoxy composites are fabricated with bi-filler reinforcement viz, wood sawdust (natural filler – fixed as 5 wt%) and NiCo₂O₄ nanoparticles (synthetic filler – varying as 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 wt%) using open-mold hand layup technique. Sol-gel synthesized NiCo₂O₄ nanoparticles are characterized with XRD and FESEM to ensure their purity and spherical morphology. Among filler-loaded composites, 1.5 wt% of NiCo₂O₄ nanoparticles reinforced Kevlar epoxy composite shows a superior tensile strength of 61.9 MPa. High thermal stability is observed for 1.5 wt% of NiCo₂O₄ nanoparticles/ 5 wt% wood sawdust reinforced Kevlar epoxy composite, wherein, it can be potentially efficient for thermal applications. Physical properties seem to be better for 1 wt% of NiCo₂O₄ nanoparticle reinforcement that prevents the composite from microcracking due to low wettability.