Viscoelastic damping behaviour of cup stacked carbon nanotube modified epoxy nanocomposites with tailored interfacial condition and re-agglomeration

Re-agglomeration is a natural phenomenon occurring in certain processing methods used in the fabrication of nanocomposites. The work describes the tailoring of the interfacial bonding and morphology in the re-agglomeration of cup stacked carbon nanotubes (CSNTs) modified RTM6 epoxy nanocomposite for potential damping applications. Mechanical and electrical properties were analysed to inform the dispersion and interfacial conditions within the nanocomposites. Samples with resin infused re-agglomerates revealed certain advantages in both mechanical and damping performance. This finding disrupted the traditional compromise between a favourable mechanical property and the energy dissipation of a homogeneously dispersed nanocomposite, allows both properties to be improved under certain interfacial bonding condition. It is proposed that a controlled agglomeration may afford a superior properties combination without sacrificing one another. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.