Abstract
To improve the dispersion effectiveness of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in epoxy and the adhesion of the resulted composites on steel substrates, this paper proposed to surface treat CNTs using carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) in the epoxy-CNTs composite. The dispersion characterizations and adhesion properties of epoxy composites reinforced by CMC surface treated CNTs were then systematically investigated. CNTs with three different weight fractions (0.5%, 1%, and 2%) were surface treated by CMCs to improve their dispersion in epoxy-CNTs composites. It was found by Raman spectroscopy, particle size analysis, transmission and scanning electron microscopy that the CMC surface treatment was effective in reducing the size of CNT clusters to achieve a better dispersion of CNTs in such epoxy-based composite. The experimental results of contact angle and single lap joint tests indicated that better CNT dispersion resulted from the CMC surface treatment significantly improved the wettability and adhesion properties of the epoxy-CNTs composites.
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