INCORPORATING METHODS OF GRAPHENE IN POLYMERIC NANOCOMPOSITES TOWARDS AUTOMOTIVE APPLICATIONS -A BRIEF REVIEW 2023-36-0015

This work aims to develop a PA6 nanocomposite with glass fiber (GF) and graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) focusing on automotive parts application. Polyamide 6 is a semi-crystalline polymer that exhibits high fatigue and flexural strength, making it viable for rigorous applications. Along with the improved electrical, mechanical, thermal, and optical performance achieved in PA6 and GF-based nanocomposites, they can fill complex geometries, have great durability, and are widely utilized due to their capacity of reducing the weight of the vehicle besides a cost reduction potential. The glass fiber is a filamentary composite, usually aggregated in polymeric matrices, which aims to amplify the mechanical properties of polymers, mainly the tensile strength in the case of PA6. Nanocomposites, on the other hand, are hybrid materials in which at least one of the components has nanometric dimensions, and the other component serves as a matrix, such as the dispersed particles of GF and GNPs present in this study. Among the fillers of nanocomposites are graphene nanoplatelets, which stand out in nanocomposites due to their easy and safe inclusion in polymer matrices, as can be seen in recent studies on the toxicity of GNPs, where it was found that graphene is much safer than carbon black for large-scale use, this being a positive point regarding the application of GNPs. With this, many studies about the synthesis of graphene-based nanocomposites have been developed seeking to strengthen their mechanical properties. These studies corroborate our proposal, which aims to use GNPs to enhance the mechanical properties of PA6/GF. To obtain them, methodologies such as melt-compounding and injection molding will be used later.