title: Morphology, thermal and mechanical properties of poly (ε-caprolactone) biocomposites reinforced with nano-hydroxyapatite decorated graphene.
abstract: In this work, hydroxyapatite (HAP) nanorods decorated on graphene nanosheets (HAP-Gs) was synthesized by a hydrothermal method. The structure, elemental composition and morphology of the HAP-Gs hybrids were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared and Transmission electron microscopy. Subsequently, the hybrids were incorporated into poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL) via a solution blending method. Optical images and scanning electron microscopy observation revealed not only a well dispersion of HAP-Gs hybrids but also a strong interfacial interaction between hybrids and PCL matrix. The influence of HAP-Gs hybrids on the crystallization behavior, crystal structure, thermal stability, mechanical properties and biocompatibility of the PCL nanocomposites was investigated in detail. The results showed that the crystallization temperature of PCL was enhanced obviously, but the crystal structure was not affected by the incorporation of HAP-Gs hybrids. The mechanical properties of PCL bionanocomposites were improved obviously.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Engineering, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), 388 Lumo Road, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, PR China. Electronic address: zhoukq@cug.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Keqing
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Engineering, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), 388 Lumo Road, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, PR China.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Wushan Road 381, Guangzhou 510641, PR China.
authors.forename: Saihua
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry; D003460:Crystallization; D017886:Durapatite / Q000737:chemistry*; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry*; D061848:Optical Imaging; D011091:Polyesters / Q000737:chemistry*; D013816:Thermodynamics; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011091:Polyesters; C016240:polycaprolactone; D006108:Graphite; D017886:Durapatite
keywords: A. Graphene; A. Hybrid; A. Polymer-matrix composites (PMCs); B. Mechanical properties; B. Thermal properties