Effects of functionalized CNTs in improving the dielectric, corrosion protection, and mechanical properties of epoxy nanocomposites for automotive/aircraft components

Abstract

ABSTRACT Excellent mechanical, thermal, electrical, electrochemical, and optical properties can be found in carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The anticorrosive and mechanical properties of CNTs in epoxy resin (EP) coatings have been improved by the integration of zirconium disulfide (ZrS2) and 2-amino−5-(4-methoxyphenyl)−1, 3, 4-thiadiazole (AMPT) for surface modification based on CNTs. The structural, morphological, and dielectric behaviors of the films were characterized for the different formulations of coatings such as EP, EP/CNTs, EP-AMPT/CNTs, EP-CNTs/ZrS2, and EP-AMPT/CNTs-ZrS2 by means of SEM/EDX, TEM, TGA/XRD, XPS, XRD, and contact angle (CA) measurement. As a result, with the addition of only 0.3% AMPT/CNTs-ZrS2, the dielectric constant of EP was increased by 87-fold at 1 Hz. The electrochemical techniques and mechanical testing confirmed that AMPT/CNTs-ZrS2 composite exhibit enhanced anticorrosive and mechanical performance of the EP coating. Superior hydrophobic property of EP-AMPT/CNTs-ZrS2 is confirmed by its WCA of 161º. Furthermore, the resistance of the EP-AMPT/CNTs-ZrS2 was found to be much higher (20.870 MΩ.cm2)] than that of the pure EP (0.112 MΩ.cm2) and the microhardness and tensile strength of EP-AMPT/CNTs-ZrS2 were increased sharply. Therefore, the newly developed EP-AMPT/CNTs-ZrS2 nanocomposite could act as the vital material for coating AA8014 aluminum alloy used in aerospace applications.