Mechanical and Electrical Properties of Epoxy Composites Modified by Functionalized Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes.

Paweł Smoleń,Anna Rutkowska,Tomasz Czujko,Dominik Grochala,Małgorzata Osiewicz-Powęzka,Zenon Komorek

doi:10.3390/ma14123325

Abstract

This paper investigates the effect of multiwalled carbon nanotubes on the mechanical and electrical properties of epoxy resins and epoxy composites. The research concerns multiwalled carbon nanotubes obtained by catalytic chemical vapor deposition, subjected to purification processes and covalent functionalization by depositing functional groups on their surfaces. The study included the analysis of the change in DC resistivity, tensile strength, strain, and Young’s modulus with the addition of carbon nanotubes in the range of 0 to 2.5 wt.%. The effect of agents intended to increase the affinity of the nanomaterial to the polymer on the aforementioned properties was also investigated. The addition of functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes allowed us to obtain electrically conductive materials. For all materials, the percolation threshold was obtained with 1% addition of multiwalled carbon nanotubes, and filling the polymer with a higher content of carbon nanotubes increased its conductivity. The use of carbon nanotubes as polymer reinforcement allows higher values of tensile strength and a higher strain percentage to be achieved. In contrast, Young’s modulus values did not increase significantly, and higher nanofiller percentages resulted in a drastic decrease in the values of the abovementioned properties.

Highlights

IntroductionPolymer nanocomposites are materials that consist of two or more phases (continuous and discontinuous) with a distinct interaction surface, of which at least one component has at least one dimension that is nanometric in scale
Polymer nanocomposites are materials that consist of two or more phases with a distinct interaction surface, of which at least one component has at least one dimension that is nanometric in scale
Incomposites this work, modified we present themultiwalled structure, mechanical, and electrical properties of epoxy were obtained by catalytic chemical vapor deposition, subjected to purification processes composites modified with multiwalled carbon nanotubes

Summary

Introduction

Polymer nanocomposites are materials that consist of two or more phases (continuous and discontinuous) with a distinct interaction surface, of which at least one component has at least one dimension that is nanometric in scale. In contrast to conventional polymer composites based on micron-scale modifiers, the introduction of nanomaterials into polymers allows for small filler distances, so that composite properties can be modified to a large extent even at very low additive contents [1,2]. Depending on the type of polymer and nanofiller, polymer nanocomposites have applications as structural, functional, and coating materials [3]. The size of the contact surface of the discontinuous phase (filler), as well as the nature of the interactions between the continuous and discontinuous phases, plays a vital role [4,5]

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