Study on Synergies of Fly Ash with Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes in Manufacturing Fire Retardant Epoxy Nanocomposite

Abstract

In this study, fly ash (FA) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were used to make environmentally friendly nanocomposites, which have high fire retardant properties and high mechanical properties. Industrial waste such as fly ash has become a major concern during the treatment of environmental pollution. MWCNTs were used in this experiment to enhance the flame retardant properties and mechanical properties of materials with fly ash additives. MWCNTs content (0.03, 0.04, and 0.05 wt.%) and fly ash content (30, 40, and 50 wt.%) were studied for three different levels. The flame retardancy of the material is significantly improved by the addition of fly ash/MWCNTs at different rates, especially at 0.04 wt. % MWCNTs and 40 wt. % fly ash with LOI at 26.8%. Regarding mechanical properties, tensile strength increases as fly ash/MWCNTs increase, up to a critical point. On the other hand, the compressive strength of composite increases continuously as fly ash/MWCNTs increase. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe the morphology of fly ash and MWCNTs as well as its distribution in the matrix. This will help analyze the influence of the effectiveness of the combination of fly ash and MWCNTs to the flame retardancy and mechanical properties of fly ash/MWCNTs/epoxy nanocomposites.