Epoxy nanocomposites with two-dimensional tungsten disulfide additives

Two-dimensional materials can give composites many unique properties, such as mechanical, thermal, optical, electronic and magnetic properties. Besides the hottest two-dimensional materials, the graphene, some metal chalcogenides also have the layered structure, including tungsten disulfide. We chose the tungsten disulfide with nanosheet structure as a reinforcement for the resin matrix. Ultrasonication can make bulk tungsten disulfide into nanosheets, and disperse homogeneously in the solution. The nano structure were observed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Then the nano tungsten disulfide was added to the epoxy resin to make reinforcement composites. Heat can remove the solvent, and through high speed agitation the nano tungsten disulfide was dispersed homogeneously in the resin matrix, forming the nano tungsten disulfide reinforced composite. The basic parameters, including the Vickers-hardness and the glass transition temperature (Tg) were measured to represent the mechanical properties. Crack-opening tests was conducted on both epoxy resin and nano tungsten disulfide to measure how the Mode I fracture toughness (KIC) was affected. We changed the content of tungsten disulfide to see the effects on the composite. The results showed that the tungsten disulfide was a significant reinforcement for epoxy resin, especially for the enhancement of fracture toughness property, indicating a huge potential in the field of nanosheet composite materials.