Influence of filler alignment in the mechanical and electrical properties of carbon nanotubes/epoxy nanocomposites

FELISBERTO, M; ARIAS-DURAN, A; RAMOS, J.A; MONDRAGON, I; CANDAL, R; GOYANES, S; RUBIOLO, G.H.

PHYSICA B - CONDENSED MATTER

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2012 vol. 407 p. 3181 - 3183

0921-4526

In this work, we report the mechanical and electrical properties of carbon nanotubes/epoxy composites prepared with aligned and randomly oriented nanotubes as filler. The samples are disks of 30mmin diameter and 3mm in thickness. To obtain the carbon nanotubes alignment, an external electric field (250 VAC;50Hz) was applied through the thickness of the sample during all the cure process. The AC electrical current was measured, during the cure, as a strategy to determine the optimum time in which the alignment reaches the maximum value. DC conductivity measured after the cures shows a percolation threshold in the filler content one order of magnitude smaller for composites with aligned nanotubes than for composites with randomly oriented filler (from0.06 to 0.5wt%). In the percolation threshold, the achieved conductivity was 1.4_10_5 Sm_1. In both cases, aligned and randomly distributed carbon nanotube composites, the wear resistance increases with the addition of the filler while the Rockwell hardness decreases independently of the nanotubes alignment