Fabrication process optimization of nHA–CNTs-reinforced PEEK hybrid nanocomposite

Compression molding is the leading fabrication process for polymer composites. The settings of process parameters highly influence the mechanical properties of composites. This study optimized the ball-mixing and compression-molding process parameters for the fabrication of hybrid nanocomposites based on polyetheretherketone (PEEK), multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and nano-hydroxyapatite using the Taguchi method. The elastic modulus examined using the nanoindentation method of static mechanical analysis was taken as the output response variable. The optimum levels of mixing time, mold temperature, mold pressure and holding time process parameters for the maximum elastic modulus were found to be 90 min, 400°C, 150 bar and 15 min, respectively. The analysis of variance technique showed that the mold temperature had the highest contribution (46.82%) in enhancing the elastic modulus to the largest value. The elastic modulus and hardness of the PEEK-based hybrid nanocomposite with 30 wt.% nHA and 3 wt.% MWCNTs were observed to be 83 and 65% higher than those of pure PEEK, respectively. The hydrophilicity of PEEK was improved with the reinforcement of nHA, attributed to the presence of oxygen-containing functional groups in the chemical structure of nHA.