Studies on morphologies and mechanical properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes/epoxy matrix composites

The mechanical properties of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs)-reinforced epoxy matrix composites with different weight percentages of MWNTs have been investigated. Also, the morphologies and failure behaviors of the composites after mechanical tests are studied by SEM and TEM analyses. As a result, the addition of MWNTs into the epoxy matrix has a remarkable effect on the mechanical properties. And the fracture surfaces of MWNTs/epoxy composites after flexural strength tests show different failure mechanisms for the composites under different nanotube contents. Also, a chemical functionalization of MWNTs can be a useful tool to improve the dispersion of the nanotubes in an epoxy system, resulting in increasing the mechanical properties of the composite materials studied.