Design and Development of Novel Flexible Bismaleimide Toughened Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube Reinforced Epoxy Nanocomposites

Abstract

A novel water-soluble and flexible aliphatic bismaleimide resin (BMIDPE) was synthesized by using maleic anhydride and polyether diamine (PEA) and toughened with diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) with 4,4'diamino diphenyl methane (DDM) as curing agent. This BMIDPE toughened DGEBA were further altered with various weight percentages (0.5, 1.0 & 1.5 wt %) of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) to obtain MWCNT/BMIDPE/DGEBA nanocomposites. The thermal studies indicated that the MWCNT/DGEBA nanocomposites displayed improved thermal stability and decreased the glass transition temperature (Tg) than that of the neat epoxy matrix. The prepared nanocomposites displayed a better dielectric constant than that of the neat epoxy system. From XRD data, it is observed that MWCNT was exfoliated into BMIDPE toughened epoxy. The homogeneous fine dispersion of MWCNTs throughout the DGEBA matrix was ascertained by SEM. The result from mechanical analysis specifies that the inclusion of PEA into the epoxy system increases the toughness. Moreover, it was believed that this new type of BMIDPE toughened DGEBA/MWCNT nanocomposites would be utilized for high-performance applications.