Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene/Graphene Oxide Nanocomposites: Thermal, Mechanical and Wettability Characterisation

Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) is the material most commonly used among hard-on-soft bearings in artificial joints. However, the eventual failure of joint implants has been directly related to the wear and oxidation resistance of UHMWPE. The development of novel materials with improved wear and oxidative characteristics has generated great interest in the orthopaedic community and numerous carbon nanostructures have been investigated in the last years due to their excellent mechanical properties. The effect of the addition of GO nanoparticles to UHMWPE and the optimal %wt GO addition were investigated. UHMWPE/GO nanocomposites with different GO wt% contents were prepared and their mechanical, thermal, structural and wettability properties were investigated and compared with virgin UHMWPE. The results showed that the thermal stability, oxidative resistance, mechanical properties and wettability properties of UHMWPE were enhanced due to the addition of GO. UHMWPE/GO materials prepared with up to 0.5 wt% GO exhibited improved characteristics compared to virgin UHMWPE and nanocomposites prepared with higher GO contents. These findings suggest that GO nanoparticles might be an interesting reinforcing material for their use in orthopaedic applications, and more research concerning the biocompatibility and tribological performance of this material is currently under investigation.