Improving the mechanical properties of Fe_3O_4/ carbon nanotube reinforced nanocomposites by a low-magnetic-field induced alignment

摘要

The aim of the paper is to develop a novel nanocomposite with high mechanical properties. The mechanical properties are improved by aligning the Fe3O4/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) into a highly oriented manner in epoxy resin (EP) via a low magnetic field. Fe(3)O(4 )nanoparticles were tethered onto the surface of MWCNTs by a novel water-in-oil (W/O) method without heating at high temperatures or the protection of inert gas. Then, the modified magnetic MWCNTs (m-MWCNTs) were added into EP and aligned in a low magnetic field (100 mT). A method was presented to estimate the minimum magnetic field strength for aligning the m-MWCNTs. Besides, the morphology and microstructures of the fabricated m-MWCNTs and m-MWCNTs/EP highly ordered nanocomposites were characterized. Finally, the mechanical properties measurements were performed. The results of the experiments showed that this method was very efficient in aligning m-MWCNTs embedded in polymer matrix leading to a highly ordered composite for improving mechanical properties.