Enhancement of mechanical,physical,and electrical performances of epoxy composites by inclusion nano-particles: A review

Composite materials have been used in a broad range of industries such as aerospace, defense, civil, marine and automotive. Due to their superior properties such as light weight and ability to dissipate large amount of energy, composite materials are increasingly compared with traditional metallic materials. Enhancement of their properties such as physical, mechanical, and chemical properties, increase lifespan, reduce costs, and decrease negative environmental impact that can be possible by the modification of matrix properties. It has been reported that using reinforcing nanofillers in composite materials can enhance their properties. Therefore, controlling the dispersion of nanoparticles in the composite laminates is significantly important in developing high-performance composite laminates. This review focuses on several strategies that were employed in developing appropriate chemical and physical methods to achieve controlled dispersion of nanoparticles in the composite laminates. The influence of the nanoparticles on the mechanical performance such as tensile, compressive, flexural and interfacial bonding strengths, interlaminar fracture toughness and impact resistance have been reviewed in this paper. Moreover, the evolution of the water absorption by composite laminates has been investigated by adding nanoparticles to these laminates. Furthermore, this review shows that the addition of conductive nanoparticles could control the absorption bands at different frequencies to design highly effective electromagnetic wave absorbers. Futuristically, a great attention could be taken to optimize the properties of composite materials through the incorporation of more than one type of nanoparticles. Further, the effect of these nanoparticles on the environment has to be studied carefully to avoid the environmental hazards through the using of these particles.