Epoxy Nanocomposites Filled with Carbon Nanoparticles

Abstract

Over the past decades, the development of high performance lightweight polymer nanocomposites and, in particular, of epoxy nanocomposites has become one the greatest challenges in material science. The ultimate goal of epoxy nanocomposites is to extrapolate the exceptional intrinsic properties of the nanoparticles to the bulk matrix. However, in spite of the efforts, this objective is still to be attained at commercially attractive scales. Key aspects to achieve this are ultimately the full understanding of network structure, the dispersion degree of the nanoparticles, the interfacial adhesion at the phase boundaries and the control of the localization and orientation of the nanoparticles in the epoxy system. In this Personal Account, we critically discuss the state of the art and evaluate the strategies to overcome these barriers.

Effect of Nickel Doping on the Cure Kinetics of Epoxy/Fe3O4 Nanocomposites

“…A complete cure is commonly the result of the appropriate dispersion of nanoparticles in the viscous liquid-like resin, which itself determines the nanoparticle-epoxy interaction [5,6]. The addition of nanoparticles to the epoxy system can facilitate or perturb curing reactions depending on the shape, size, loading and the functionality of nanoparticles [7][8][9]. To precisely monitor the effect of nanoparticles on the ultimate properties, one may need to analyze the cure reaction of epoxy nanocomposites.…”

Modeling the Electromagnetic Scattering Characteristics of Carbon Nanotube Composites Characterized by 3-D Tomographic Transmission Electron Microscopy

“…In shielding applications, the goal is to create a lightweight composite with considerable shielding in the microwave range. Here, CNTs are added to a low-density polymer, which is transparent in its undoped state to microwave radiation, to create a light and tunable composite with high shielding effectiveness [1], [2]. CNT composites have also recently been proposed for thermotherapy [3].…”

“…In all of these applications, the desired functionality is highly dependent on the properties of the CNT additives and their exact distribution or dispersion in the composite [1], [2], [9]. Hence, an accurate non-contact method for the evaluation of CNT properties and distribution is important to advance all of these applications.…”

Importance of Interface in the Coarse-Grained Model of CNT /Epoxy Nanocomposites

“…During the past few decades, polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) have received significant attention and have long been at the forefront of research in the polymer community for their broad range of potential applications [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. PNCs, different from traditional composite materials, exhibit quite complex thermomechanical properties which are strongly related to the physics and chemistry of the inclusion of nanofillers, including nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) [4,8], and graphenes [9,10]. Among all PNCs, the most attractive materials may be those reinforced by carbon nanotubes, due to their practical engineering applications such as aerospace materials, packing, and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding [4,11,12].…”