Effects of processing conditions on rheological, thermal, and electrical properties of multiwall carbon nanotube/epoxy resin composites

We report on the effect of processing conditions on rheology, thermal and electrical properties of nanocomposites containing 0.02–0.3 wt % multiwall carbon nanotubes in an epoxy resin. The influence of the sonication, the surface functionalization during mixing, as well as the application of external magnetic field (EMF) throughout the curing process was examined. Rheological tests combined with optical microscopy visualization are proved as a very useful methodology to determine the optimal processing conditions for the preparation of the nanocomposites. The Raman spectra provide evidence for more pronounced effect on the functionalized with hardener compositions, particularly by curing upon application of EMF. Different chain morphology of CNTs is created depending of the preparation conditions, which induced different effects on the thermal and electrical properties of the nanocomposites. The thermal degradation peak is significantly shifted towards higher temperatures by increasing the nanotube content, this confirming that even the small amount of carbon nanotubes produces a strong barrier effect for the volatile products during the degradation. The ac conductivity measurements revealed lower values of the percolation threshold (pc) in the range of 0.03–0.05 wt %. CNTs for the nanocomposites produced by preliminary dispersing of nanotubes in the epoxy resin, compared to those prepared by preliminary functionalization of the nanotubes in the amine hardener. This is attributed to the higher viscosity and stronger interfacial interactions of the amine hardener/CNT dispersion which restricts the reorganization of the nanotubes. The application of the EMF does not influence the pc value but the dc conductivity values (σdc) of the nanocomposites increased at about one order of magnitude due to the development of the aforementioned chain structure. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2011