Durable wear-resistant and antislip epoxy-EPU nanocomposites enabled by silane-modified graphene oxide for sports fields
摘要
Epoxy coatings are frequently applied to the surfaces of sports fields to enhance their durability and performance. This work endeavored to enhance slip resistance of these sports surfaces by examining impact of silane coupling agents—specifically KH550 and KH560—on graphene oxide. The graphene oxide was modified through an in situ grafting process and then incorporated into an epoxy/epoxide-polyurethane (EPU) nanocomposite. The silane-modified graphene oxide was found to be uniformly dispersed within the epoxy resin, with the KH550-modified variant exhibiting superior tensile strength, thermal stability, and glass transition temperature (Tg) compared to the KH560-modified version. Interestingly, the incorporation of KH560-modified graphene oxide into the epoxy-EPU nanocomposite led to an increase in the loss tangent (tan δ), whereas the addition of KH550-modified graphene oxide resulted in a decrease in tan δ. For tribological properties, the nanocomposite containing KH560-modified graphene oxide demonstrated a higher coefficient of friction while significantly reducing the wear rate when compared to the unmodified EPU-EP composite. This improvement is believed to stem from the increased hysteresis and adhesion friction provided by the KH560-modified graphene oxide. The work suggests that incorporating 0.2 wt% of KH560-modified graphene oxide may be the optimal concentration for producing EPU-EP composites that offer a satisfactory balance between wear resistance and slip resistance.