Preparation And Properties Of Macromolecular Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes/Epoxy Resin Composites

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can be used as an ideal reinforcement of polymer matrixcomposites because of the unique structure and the outstanding mechanical properties.The epoxy resin (EP) has excellent integrated performance. However, the brittlenature of cured epoxy resins restricts its application in some advanced fields. It isgenerally believed that addition of functionalized CNTs could improve mechanicalproperties of EP. The potential of employing CNTs as reinforcements has beenseverely limited because of the difficulties associated with dispersion of entangledCNTs and the poor interfacial interactions between CNTs and epoxy matrix. To solvethe issues, surface functionalization of CNTs has been applied. Thus far, most of thestudies focused on active small molecules, synthetic polymer and surfactant, and thereis little report relating to biological macromolecules.Chitosan and polydopamine are two types of biological macromolecules which havesimple preparation methods and active groups in the molecular chains, in addition,they are renewable resources with properties of biocompatibility, biodegradability andenvironmental friend. In view of these excellent features, this paper utilized these twopolymers to modify the CNTs and prepared functionalized CNTs/EP composites, therelevant properties of the composites were analyzed. The chief contents of this paperare listed below:1．Surface functionalization of CNTs:Chitosan functionalized CNTs were prepared by in-situ grafting method. Theproperties are charactered by TEM, TG, IR and dispersion experiment. Polydopaminefunctionalized CNTs were prepared by in situ polymerization method. The propertiesare charactered by TEM, TG, IR and dispersion experiment. 2．Preparation of functionalized CNTs/EP:Functionalized CNTs/EP were prepared by die casting method. In order toimprove the combination between CNTs and epoxy matrix, the pre-cured method wasapplied and the curing process of composite materials was discussed.3．Characterization of functionalized CNTs/EP:A series of CNT composites with different content were prepared by die castingmethod. The tensile and impact properties of the composites were studied. Thenscanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used toanalyze the influence of the surface functionalized methods and the content of CNTson the mechanical properties of the composite.