Polydopamine-decorated boron nitride as nano-reinforcing fillers for epoxy resin with enhanced thermomechanical and tribological properties

Dopamine was polymerized and decorated on surface of the hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) to enhance the dispersibility and reactivity of h-BN. The polydopamine-decorated BN nanosheets were identified by Raman spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM), respectively. BN-based nanocomposites were prepared by curing reaction of epoxy E44, Jeffamine D-230 and polydopamine-decorated BN nanosheets. The thermal, mechanical and wear-resistant performance for nanocomposites with different BN loadings (0.5%, 1%, 2%, 4%) were characterized via thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and tribological tests. Results of thermal analysis showed that all BN-based composites possessed the superior thermal stability compared with the pure epoxy resin. The preferable mechanical and wear resistant performance of composites were attributed to the complementary role of mechanical, lubrication and thermal conductivity of BN nanosheets.