Effect of Graphene Quantum Dots on the Mechanical Properties of Bisphenol F-Based Epoxy

Abstract

Nanofillers have gained popularity in the composites industry to enhance the already desirable thermo-mechanical properties of the material. These fillers have been reported to generate poor bonding, agglomeration, void-formation, and similar nano-scale defects. Graphene Quantum dots (GQDs) are one of the smallest nanofiller with a diameter of ~1 nm that can mitigate the commonly seen defects in toughened composites. Molecular Dynamics (MD) is used to investigate the molecular mechanisms generated by embedding a single GQD in an epoxy matrix. Mechanical characterization of a single pristine GQD-epoxy system is reported in this study.