Mesua Ferrea L. Seed Oil Modified Sulfone Epoxy Resin and Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube Nanocomposites and Their Biomedical and Mechanical Properties

Abstract

Adhesive strength of multiwalled carbon nanotubes/Mesua ferrea L. seed oil based sulfonated epoxy resin nanocomposites was investigated by lap shear method on different substrates (wood/aluminium/polypropylene). MWCNT was functionalized by mild oxidative technique using phase transfer catalyst (PTC). The modification was confirmed by FTIR technique, whereas the stability of the dispersion of MWCNT in polar aprotic solvents confirms the functionalization. Bacillus subtilis bacterial strain was used for the first time to study the biodegradation of the epoxy/MWCNT nanocomposites. The increase in the statistical growth of bacteria on the nanocomposites determined by the bacterial OD (optical density) measurement confirms bacterial colonization at the expense of degradation of the systems. The biodegradability of the nanocomposites was observed to increase with the increase of MWCNT loading. Further RBC haemolytic protection assay test of the nanocomposites confirm their cyto-compatibility. Nanocomposite with 3 wt% loading exhibit about 161 percent enhancement in adhesive strength for wood substrate and about 156.6 percent enhancement in tensile strength. The thermal stability of the nanocomposites enhances with MWCNT loadings and 3 wt% MWCNT loading exhibited 41 ∗ C improvements over the pristine polymer. The results indicate the potentiality of MWCNT/epoxy nanocomposite as advanced biomedical adhesive.