The Effect of Boron Nitride Reinforcement on Physical and Mechanical Properties of Polyethylene Tetraphalate (PET)

Abstract

Polymers are economical, easy to fabricate, low weight, decent strength, good thermal and electrical insulating properties, and many more advantages made polymers reach the highest magnitude and replace all traditional materials with various types of reinforcing elements as desired. In many capacities, they have significantly suppressed traditional materials. There are numerous advantages that make polymers very promising contenders for domestic, commercial, and engineering applications. In the present research, Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) polymer as a matrix and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) as reinforcement were used, and are fabricated using ball milling and injection molding process. The properties of h-BN addition to (0 – 40 wt. %) were studied, recorded, and analyzed the physical and mechanical properties. Optical microscopy images showed good distribution of BN particles in the PET matrix. The Vickers microhardness, impact strength, were found to increase by 28% and 70%. Tensile strength and flexural bending test results of composites were found to increase approximately 54% and 52%, and percent elongation has reduced by almost 46% by an increase in the BN particles compared to pure PET matrix.