Nickel-based metal−organic framework-derived whisker-shaped nickel phyllosilicate toward efficiently enhanced mechanical, flammable and tribological properties of epoxy nanocomposites

Abstract

Metal−organic framework-derived materials have attracted significant attention in the applications of functional materials. In this work, the rod-like nickel-based metal−organic frameworks were first synthesized and subsequently employed as the hard templates and nickel sources to prepare the whisker-shaped nickel phyllosilicate using a facile hydrothermal technology. Then, the nickel phyllosilicate whiskers were evaluated to enhance the mechanical, thermal, flammable, and tribological properties of epoxy resin. The results show that adequate nickel phyllosilicate whiskers can disperse well in the matrix, improving the tensile strength and elastic modulus by 13.6% and 56.4%, respectively. Although the addition of nickel phyllosilicate whiskers could not obtain any UL-94 ratings, it enhanced the difficulty in burning the resulted epoxy resin nanocomposites and considerably enhanced thermal stabilities. Additionally, it was demonstrated that such nickel phyllosilicate whiskers preferred to improve the wear resistance instead of the antifriction feature. Moreover, the wear rate of epoxy resin nanocomposites was reduced significantly by 80% for pure epoxy resin by adding 1 phr whiskers. The as-prepared nickel phyllosilicate whiskers proved to be promising reinforcements in preparing of high-performance epoxy resin nanocomposites.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

metal−organic framework / nickel phyllosilicate / whisker / epoxy resin / mechanical response / tribological performance / flammable property

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Key research and development project in Anhui Province (Grant No. 2022i01020016), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51775001), the Anhui Province Natural Science Foundation (Grant Nos. 1908085J20, 2008085QE269), the University Synergy Innovation Program of Anhui Province (Grant Nos. GXXT-2019-027, GXXT-2020-057), the Natural Science Research Project of Universities in Anhui Province (Grant No. KJ2020A0326) and the Leading Talents Project in Colleges and Universities of Anhui Province.

Electronic Supplementary Material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11705-022-2168-9 and is accessible for authorized users.

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