The Preparation Of Epoxide-ring Functionalized Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes And The Properties Study Of MWCNT/Epoxy Nanocomposition

Caron nanotubes (CNTs) exhibit excellent mechanical properties: the super high tensile strength, toughness and Young's modulus, and a unique microstructure: high specific surface area and high aspect ratio, which can be considered as an ideal reinforcement additive for advanced compositesThough some progresses on fabricating carbon nanotubes(CNTs)/epoxy composite have been achieved during the past few years, several principle problems have not been got over by now. Those methods recently used to disperse CNTs in polymer matrix cannot disperse CNTs in polymer matrix absolutely uniformly. Consequently, exploring other effective dispersing method remains one of the key problems for fabricating high performance CNTs/polymer composites.In this study, the covalently epoxide-ring functionalized Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT-E51) have been synthesized by the solution method and melting method respectively. The effects of epoxide-ring functionalized on the dispersion of MWNTs in epoxy resin and the properties of the composites were studied.The solution method: The covalently epoxide-ring functionalized Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT-epoxy) have been synthesized by the esterification reaction between the carboxylic acid from acid-treated MWCNTs (MWCNT-COOH) and epoxy resin with the presence of triphenyl phosphine (TPP) as a catalyst. The MWCNT-epoxy was characterized by spectroscopy (Raman, FTIR and UV), electron microscopy (SEM), thermal analysis (TGA) and the titration method. The results from Spectroscopies'investigation indicate that the epoxide ring has been successfully attached to the sidewall of the MWCNT-COOH via the esterification reaction. SEM measurements indicate that the diameter of the MWCNT-epoxy is thicker than the MWCNT-COOH and the sidewall of MWCNT-COOH has been...