LOW TEMPERATURE CURE KINETICS OF VINYL ESTER AND UNSATURATED POLYESTER/CARBON NANOFIBER NANOCOMPOSITES

摘要

Unsaturated polyester (UP) and vinyl ester (VE) resins are two of the most widely used thermoset resins in fiber reinforced composites due to their low cost and good processability. Adding nanoparticles like carbon nanofibers (CNFs) as a third phase into conventional composites results in hybrid nanocomposites with improved mechanical properties and multi-functionalities, and at the same time makes the curing reaction even more complex. In this paper, the effects of CNFs on the reaction kinetics of the two free radical polymerization systems are studied. VE/CNF kinetics is presented in more detail including interesting interactions between CNFs and curing ingredients in the system. Preliminary reaction kinetics data of UP/CNF is also presented.