Investigating the Effects of Graphene Nanoplatelets (GNPs) and external Waterbased Crosslinker (eWCL) on the Mechanical and Thermal properties of Waterbased Elastomer (WBE) Nanocomposites

Polyurethane elastomers of waterbased formulations (wPU) are currently attracting wide attention by both the industry and academia for application in areas such as aerospace, building and construction. However, waterbased elastomers (WBEs) areas of application are limited due to their inherently lower mechanical and thermal properties, compared to their solvent-based counterparts. Hence, there is a need for improvement of WBEs properties. This work explores the synergistic effect of GNPs and eWCL on the mechanical and thermal property enhancement of wPU. Here, we report significant improvement in tensile strength, elastic modulus, and tear strength, as well as a strong gain in ultimate elongation of the GNP and eWCL based wPU nanocomposites. The GNP-only-based wPU nanocomposites exhibiting lower elastic modulus compared to higher modulus recorded for those of the eWCL integrated GNP–wPU nanocomposites. The work also shows that a combination of GNPs and eWCL has the potential of enhancing wPU thermal properties (such as thermal stability). The produced nanocomposites were characterised by employing non-destructive techniques such as x-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman and FTIR spectroscopy, as well as optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The study infers that GNPs are strong candidates for reinforcement of the mechanical and thermal properties of WBEs. The work further shows that eWCL offers a unique improvement in properties when integrated with GNP-wPU nanocomposites. Thus, the GNPs enhanced wPUs possess a remarkable potential for applications in a wide range of industrial sectors in areas such as aerospace, textile, automotive, packaging, electronics, sensors, maritime and sports.