EFFECTS OF REACTIVE GRAPHITIC NANOFIBERS ON MECHANICAL AND THERMAL PROPERTIES OF A NANO-EPOXY

摘要

We previously developed a nano-epoxy material based on preparation of reactive graphitic nanofibers (r-GNFs). The graphitic nanofibers (GNFs) are herringbone graphitic nanofibers surface-derivatized with reactive linker molecules bearing pendant primary amino functional groups capable of binding covalently to epoxy resins. This work is on the study of effects of the r-GNFs in an epoxy resin on the mechanical properties and thermal properties of the resulting nano-epoxy materials with 0.15, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5 wt% r-GNFs. Three-point bending tests were carried out for the pure epoxy and nano-epoxy materials to obtain the flexural behaviors. Thermal properties including glass transition temperature (T{sub}g) and coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) for the nano-epoxy were investigated using thermal mechanical analysis (TMA). The nano-epoxy containing 0.3 wt% of the nanofibers gives the highest mechanical (strength, modulus and breaking elongation) and thermal properties. The fracture surfaces of the nano-epoxy were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results shown that this nano-epoxy has great potential to be used as a matrix for advanced composites, especially for application of aircraft structures.