title: Effective amino-functionalization of carbon nanotubes for reinforcing epoxy polymer composites.
abstract: An effective functionalization method was investigated to take full advantage of the exceptional performance of both carbon nanotubes and epoxy polymer for composite application. Epoxy polymer curing agent, EPI-W, was grafted to the single-walled carbon nanotubes through diazotization. Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, dynamical mechanical analysis and thermo-gravimetric analysis were performed to characterize the functionalization effect. The degree of functionalization was estimated to be 1 in 50 carbons in the nanotube framework. The elastic modulus of the nanocomposite was enhanced 24.6% with only 0.5 wt% loading of functionalized carbon nanotubes, in contrast to the 3.2% increase of un-functionalized carbon nanotube reinforced composite. This significant improvement suggested an effective way to realize an industrial application of nanotubes reinforcing epoxy composite.
authors.affiliation: Florida Advanced Center for Composite Technologies, Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL32310, USA.
authors.forename: Shiren
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Zhiyong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Tina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Chuck
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang