ABSTRACT A simplistic and economical process was employed for the oxidation of graphite nanoplatelets (GNPs) using concentrated HNO3, followed by their surface modification by amine functionalization via silanization with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES). The impact of the oxidation time of the GNPs (varied from 12 h to 72 h) and their surface functionalization was studied with respect to the change in thermo-mechanical and mechanical properties of the GNPs/epoxy nanocomposites. The degree of oxidation and functionalization of the GNPs was characterized using field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA). The optimized oxidation time (60 h) and surface functionalization of the GNPs resulted in the significant improvement in the storage modulus (∼176%), glass transition temperature (Tg) (∼15 oC), tensile strength (∼98.71%) and tensile modulus (∼142.66%) of the GNPs/epoxy nanocomposites as compared the to neat epoxy (NE) system. Such tremendous enhancement in the material properties by a facile and economical approach can exhibit an inordinate potential to replace the costly multistep oxidation methods of fabrication of graphene/epoxy nanocomposites at industrial scale.

中文翻译：

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用于增强环氧树脂基体的表面氧化/硅烷化石墨纳米片

摘要 采用一种简单且经济的方法，使用浓 HNO3 氧化石墨纳米片 (GNP)，然后通过胺官能化对其表面进行改性，通过 3-氨基丙基三乙氧基硅烷 (APTES) 进行硅烷化。研究了 GNP 的氧化时间（从 12 小时到 72 小时不等）及其表面功能化对 GNP/环氧树脂纳米复合材料热机械和机械性能变化的影响。使用场发射扫描电子显微镜 (FESEM)、拉曼光谱、傅里叶变换红外光谱 (FTIR) 和热重分析 (TGA) 表征 GNP 的氧化和功能化程度。GNP 的优化氧化时间 (60 h) 和表面功能化导致储能模量 (~176%)、玻璃化转变温度 (Tg) (~15 oC)、拉伸强度 (~98.71%) 和拉伸强度的显着改善。与纯环氧树脂 (NE) 系统相比，GNP/环氧树脂纳米复合材料的模量 (~142.66%)。通过简便且经济的方法对材料特性的这种巨大增强可以表现出巨大的潜力，以取代在工业规模上制造石墨烯/环氧树脂纳米复合材料的昂贵的多步氧化方法。