SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF EPOXY-SINGLE-WALL CARBON NANOTUBE COMPOSITES

We present a study on the composite of 1 wt% single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) in epoxy resin. Composites were prepared by solution mixing of epoxy resin XY 444 (Vantico), polyamine hardener XV 279 (Vantico) and single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), as a thin film. We observed that addition of surfactant together with sonification were necessary in order to obtain more uniform composite. We used several techniques to investigate the nanocomposite material, such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The observed changes of the glass transition temperature (T _g ) and electron micrographs indicate that the compatibility and interfacial adhesion between the nanotubes and epoxy resin are poor.