Design and characterization of a novel supported epoxy film adhesive reinforced by Ti3C2Tx MXene nanoparticles

Film adhesives made from epoxy resin are typically used in different industries including transportation and aerospace to attach aluminum substrates together. These film adhesives offer a series of advantages including ease of application and handling, control over the adhesive thickness, minimal waste and uniform product as compared to other forms of adhesive like paste adhesives. Here, we try to improve the mechanical and thermal properties of these adhesives as well as to address poor ductility and weak fracture toughness of cured epoxy as major disadvantages. We used two dimensional (2D) Ti3C2Tx nanoparticles (NPs) which is the most well-known member of the emerging MXene family. MXenes a recent class of 2D transition metal carbides, nitrides and carbonitrides, have attracted many attentions since they were synthesized in 2011.The particular structural and functional characteristics of MXenes make them good candidate for multifunctional composites. The addition of inorganic MXene NPs to epoxy matrix at 1 phr accompanied by phenolic resin (novolac type) improves the tensile strength, modulus, and toughness of the adhesive by 16.49%, 43.51%, and 17.19%, respectively. Using MXene NP-containing epoxy film adhesives for attaching aluminum pieces together, we realized that the presence of MXene increases the single-lap shear strength and T-peel strength by 32.69% and 37.94%, respectively.in addition, the thermal stability of the MXene NP-containing film adhesives was improved, as indicated by 10.51% increase in the initial degradation temperature.