Effect of Various Aminated Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes on the Epoxy Cross-Linking Reactions

Arc discharge single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) have been functionalized with terminal primary amines through four experimental approaches that induce either tip/edge or sidewall functionalization. A full characterization of functionalized SWNTs has been carried out through several techniques high-performance epoxy system, and the mixture has been studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and isoconversional kinetic calculations. The thermodynamic parmeters obtained from DSC and the isoconversional plots reveal that SWNT aminated through sidewall addition reactions participate in cross-linking processes. Unfunctionalized SWNTs or those aminated on tips and edges do not show any evidence of a covalent anchoring to the matrix. The type and chemical nature of the amine moieties play an important role in the dispersibility and reactivity of SWNTs in the epoxy, but the functionalization degree and metal content do not affect the epoxy curing process. This study sets the way toward the choice of proper amine moieties for controlling the thermomechanical properties of epoxy/SWNT composites.