The mechanical behavior of an adhesive, in neat state and reinforced with up to 0.5 wt% of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) was investigated here. Tests were done at temperatures between the ambient temperature and the glass transition temperature (T_g$)$ of the adhesive. Using a metal mold, cured plates of the neat and RGO reinforced epoxy adhesive were prepared. The adhesive powder and the bulk dumbbell-shaped specimens, obtained from cured adhesive plates, were subjected to differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and tensile tests, respectively, to obtain the T_g as well as mechanical properties of the adhesives. The results indicated that adding RGO up to 0.5 wt% increased the glass transition temperature, the modulus of elasticity, and the strength of the adhesive. It was found that the presence of RGO reduced the adhesive’s strain at the break at the ambient temperature. However, at high temperatures, near the T_g, the ultimate strain of RGO-reinforced adhesives decreased slightly when compared to the ultimate strain of the neat specimens. This explains the reduction in toughness at ambient temperature obtained by adding RGO and the increase at high temperatures. Finally, the failure morphology of the neat and RGO-reinforced adhesive specimens was investigated using microscopic imaging of the specimens’ failure cross-sections, which supported and justified the experimental observations.

此处研究了粘合剂在纯净状态下并用高达 0.5 wt% 的还原氧化石墨烯 (RGO) 增强的机械性能。测试在环境温度和玻璃化转变温度 ( T _g$)$的粘合剂。使用金属模具，制备纯和 RGO 增强环氧树脂粘合剂的固化板。从固化的粘合板上获得的粘合剂粉末和块状哑铃形试样分别进行差示扫描量热法 (DSC) 和拉伸试验，以获得粘合剂的T _g和机械性能。结果表明，添加高达 0.5 wt% 的 RGO 可提高玻璃化转变温度、弹性模量和粘合剂的强度。发现 RGO 的存在降低了粘合剂在环境温度下断裂时的应变。然而，在高温下，接近T _g，与纯试样的极限应变相比，RGO 增强粘合剂的极限应变略有下降。这解释了通过添加 RGO 获得的环境温度下韧性的降低和高温下韧性的增加。最后，使用试样破坏截面的显微成像研究了纯的和 RGO 增强的粘合剂试样的破坏形态，这支持并证明了实验观察。