Abstract
This paper reported the effect of high temperature on the electro-mechanical behavior of carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforced epoxy composites. CNT/epoxy composites were fabricated by dispersing CNTs in the epoxy matrix using a solution casting method. Electrical conductivity measurements obtained for the CNT/epoxy composites indicated a steadily increasing directly proportional relationship with CNT concentration with a percolation threshold at 0.25 wt %, reaching a maximum of up to 0.01 S/m at 2.00 wt % CNTs. The electro-mechanical behavior of CNT/epoxy composites were investigated at a room temperature under the static and cyclic compressive loadings, resulting that the change in resistance of CNT/epoxy composites was reduced as increasing CNT concentration with good repeatability. This is due to well-networked CNTs conducting pathways created within the solid epoxy matrix observed by scanning electron microscopy. Temperature significantly affects the electro-mechanical behavior of CNT/epoxy composites. In particular, the electro-mechanical behavior of CNT/epoxy composites below the glass transition temperature showed the similar trend with those at room temperature, whereas the electro-mechanical behavior of CNT/epoxy composites above the glass transition temperature showed an opposite change in resistance with poor repeatability due to unstable CNT network in epoxy matrix.
Highlights
In recent years, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have attracted considerable interest for many industrial applications [1,2,3]
A significant in the electrical conductivity was observed when the concentration of CNTs increased from 0.2 wt % to increase in the electrical conductivity was observed when the concentration of CNTs increased from
The observed increased in electrical conductivity of the CNT/epoxy composite is due to a well-developed CNT network structure created within
Summary
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have attracted considerable interest for many industrial applications [1,2,3]. CNTs possess excellent mechanical, electrical, electronic, optical, chemical and thermal properties, which, when combine with their very high aspect ratio and large surface area, have made them an excellent candidate for smart composite materials [4,5,6,7]. In this context, CNT reinforced composite materials have been investigated for smart composite applications such as for gas detection [8], structural integrity self–sensing [9] and actuators [10]. They found that both of the mechanical and electrical properties were improved especially for a 1.0 wt % CNTs
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