title: Toughening of epoxy matrices with reduced single-walled carbon nanotubes.
abstract: Reduced single-walled carbon nanotubes (r-SWCNT) are shown to react readily at room temperature under inert atmosphere conditions with epoxide moieties, such as those in triglycidyl p-amino phenol (TGAP), to produce a soft covalently bonded interface around the SWCNT. The soft interface is compatible with the SWCNT-free cross-linked cured matrix and acts as a toughener for the composite. Incorporation of 0.2 wt % r-SWCNT enhances the ultimate tensile strength, toughness and fracture toughness by 32, 118, and 40%, respectively, without change in modulus. A toughening rate (dK(IC)/dwt(f)) of 200 MPa m(0.5) is obtained. The toughening mechanism is elucidated through dynamic mechanical analyses, Raman spectroscopy and imaging, and stress-strain curve analyses. The method is scalable and applicable to epoxy resins and systems used commercially.
authors: Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, K1A 0R6.
authors: Yadienka
authors: Y
authors: Martinez-Rubi
authors: Behnam
authors: B
authors: Ashrafi
authors: Jingwen
authors: J
authors: Guan
authors: Christopher
authors: C
authors: Kingston
authors: Andrew
authors: A
authors: Johnston
authors: Benoit
authors: B
authors: Simard
authors: Vahid
authors: V
authors: Mirjalili
authors: Pascal
authors: P
authors: Hubert
authors: Libo
authors: L
authors: Deng
authors: Robert J
authors: RJ
authors: Young