This study investigated the correlation between the electrical conductivity and the micro and nanomorphology of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)/epoxy nanocomposites with and without the inorganic fillers montmorillonite (MMT), sepiolite and calcium carbonate (CaCO₃). The nanocomposites were prepared by dispersing the MWCNT and fillers through ultrasonication directly in the resin or solvent. For nanocomposites without fillers, the compositions prepared with solvent demonstrated higher electrical conductivities, which correlate with a microscale morphology formed by networks of highly interconnected MWCNT agglomerates. The addition of MMT induced a deleterious effect on the electrical conductivity of the nanocomposites since this filler hinders the formation of MWCNT agglomerate networks. The effect of sepiolite on electrical conductivity is also negative, but in this case, nonmorphological effects are likely of greater importance. The addition of CaCO₃ improved the electrical conductivity of the binary nanocomposites under specific conditions. For this filler, a synergic effect was achieved for the composition prepared with solvent, which resulted in an approximately sixfold increase in electrical conductivity relative to the nanocomposite without filler.

中文翻译：

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矿物填料的添加和制备方法对环氧/多壁碳纳米管纳米复合材料的形貌和导电性的影响

这项研究调查了电导率与含或不含无机填料蒙脱土（MMT），海泡石和碳酸钙（CaCO ₃）的多壁碳纳米管（MWCNT）/环氧纳米复合材料的微观和纳米形态之间的相关性）。通过将MWCNT和填料通过超声处理直接分散在树脂或溶剂中来制备纳米复合材料。对于没有填料的纳米复合材料，用溶剂制备的组合物表现出较高的电导率，这与由高度互连的MWCNT团聚物网络形成的微观形貌有关。MMT的添加对纳米复合材料的电导率产生有害影响，因为该填料阻碍了MWCNT附聚物网络的形成。海泡石对电导率的影响也是负的，但在这种情况下，非形态学影响可能更为重要。CaCO _3的添加在特定条件下改善了二元纳米复合材料的电导率。对于这种填料，用溶剂制备的组合物获得了协同作用，这导致相对于没有填料的纳米复合材料，电导率增加了大约六倍。