Improving the flexural and thermomechanical properties of amino-functionalized carbon nanotube/epoxy composites by using a pre-curing treatment

Abstract

Please cite this article as: Prolongo, S.G., Gude, M.R., Ureña, A., Improving the flexural and thermomechanical properties of amino-functionalized carbon nanotube/epoxy composites by using a pre-curing treatment, Composites Science and Technology (2011), doi: 10.1016/j.compscitech.2011 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. ABSTRACT:A prior thermal (pre-curing) treatment of mixtures of epoxy monomer and amino-functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was used to promote a chemical reaction between the matrix and the reinforcement, favouring the formation of a strong interface. Samples of epoxy resin and different weight percentages of amino-functionalized multi-walled CNTs were prepared with and without the pre-curing treatment (150ºC, 1 hour). The degree of dispersion of the nanofiller was better when this pre-curing treatment was used. This allowed a higher CNT content while keeping a high sample homogeneity. Without the pre-curing step, the addition of CNTs increases both the flexural strength and strain to failure by 45%. Moreover, with the pre-curing step, the nanocomposite with 0.25 wt % CNTs presents an increase of flexural strength by 58% and strain to failure by 68% regard to neat epoxy

Environmental Degradation of Carbon Nanotube Hybrid Aerospace Composites

“…According to the dispersion state of the CNTs, different E 0 and loss modulus (E 00 ) behavior are expected (Hatakeyama and Quinn 1999;Li et al 2000;Mitchell et al 2002). Some studies report strong effect in the E 0 on the glassy state, due to improved interaction between the nanotubes and the EP matrix, which reduces the mobility of the EP matrix around the nanotubes and leads to an observed increase in thermal .7 ILSS before and after exposure for the unmodified and CNT-modified CFRP specimens reproduced after Barkoula et al (2009) stability (Valentini et al 2003;Gojny and Schulte 2004;Fidelusa et al 2005;Chen et al 2008;Prolongo et al 2011). A slight effect was measured on the rubbery state Prolongo et al 2011).…”

“…Some studies report strong effect in the E 0 on the glassy state, due to improved interaction between the nanotubes and the EP matrix, which reduces the mobility of the EP matrix around the nanotubes and leads to an observed increase in thermal .7 ILSS before and after exposure for the unmodified and CNT-modified CFRP specimens reproduced after Barkoula et al (2009) stability (Valentini et al 2003;Gojny and Schulte 2004;Fidelusa et al 2005;Chen et al 2008;Prolongo et al 2011). A slight effect was measured on the rubbery state Prolongo et al 2011). It was stated that the nanotube content was not sufficient (0.5 wt.%) to lead to any reinforcement since the molecular motion and the amplitude of this motion are very high and the macromolecule is not practically in contact with particles above the T g .…”

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“…Field emission gun SEM (FEG-SEM) micrographs showed that the degree of dispersion achieved for the pre-cured samples was better than that for the untreated samples [120].…”

“…Prolongo et al [120] studied the flexural properties of epoxy/amino-CNT composites prepared using a pre-curing treatment. As shown in Fig.…”

“…It is known that the mechanical performance of epoxy/CNT composites strongly depends on the uniformity of nanotube dispersion within the polymer matrix and the strong interfacial interactions between the two components [95,96,120]. It has been shown that functionalized CNTs are more readily dispersed in an epoxy matrix and have better interfacial interactions, which is beneficial for improving the properties of the composites [105].…”