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The Effect of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube (SWCNT) Concentration on the Mechanical and Rheological Behavior of Epoxy Matrix

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Mechanics of Composite Materials Aims and scope

The improvement of Mode I fracture toughness of epoxy by the addition of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) is considered. To prepare nanocomposites, chemical-vapor-deposition-grown SWCNTs noncovalently functionalized with an ethoxylated alcohol was used as the additive and a diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A-based epoxy as the matrix material. The SWCNTs were dispersed in the epoxy matrix via a mechanical stirrer and a 3-roll mill. The effect of their concentration (0.0125, 0.025, 0.05, 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5 wt.%) on the mechanical properties of the nanocomposites was investigated, and the optimum concentration was determined. Mode I fracture toughness (single-edge-notch 3-point bending) and tensile tests were carried out on neat epoxy and SWCNT-reinforced epoxy nanocomposites. The fractured surfaces of fracture toughness and tensile test specimens were examined by the SEM to reveal the effect of SWCNTs on their failure modes.

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Acknowledgement

This study was supported by the Scientific Research Projects of Izmir Institute of Technology with Project No. 2017IYTE46 and TÜBİTAK with the authors acknowledge the support of this institutions (project 215M182). The tuball SWCNTs from OCSiAl used in this study were supplied from PİNHAS A.Ş.

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  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Izmir Institute of Technology, Urla, Izmir, Turkey

    Z. Ay & M. Tanoğlu

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  1. Z. Ay
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  2. M. Tanoğlu
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Correspondence to M. Tanoğlu.

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Russian translation published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 56, No. 4, pp. 767-780, May-June, 2020.

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Ay, Z., Tanoğlu, M. The Effect of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube (SWCNT) Concentration on the Mechanical and Rheological Behavior of Epoxy Matrix. Mech Compos Mater 56, 523–532 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11029-020-09900-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11029-020-09900-7

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