Effect of Carbon Nanofiber Heat Treatment on Physical Properties of Polymeric Nanocomposites—Part I

Abstract

The definition of a nanocomposite material has broadened significantly to encompass a large variety of systems made of dissimilar components and mixed at the nanometer scale. The properties of nanocomposite materials also depend on the morphology, crystallinity, and interfacial characteristics of the individual constituents. In the current work, vapor-grown carbon nanofibers were subjected to varying heat-treatment temperatures. The strength of adhesion between the nanofiber and an epoxy (thermoset) matrix was characterized by the flexural strength and modulus. Heat treatment to 1800<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:mmultiscripts><mml:mtext>C</mml:mtext><mml:mprescripts/><mml:none/><mml:mo>∘</mml:mo></mml:mmultiscripts></mml:mrow></mml:math>demonstrated maximum improvement in mechanical properties over that of the neat resin, while heat-treatment to higher temperatures demonstrated a slight decrease in mechanical properties likely due to the elimination of potential bonding sites caused by the elimination of the truncated edges of the graphene layers. Both the electrical and thermal properties of the resulting nanocomposites increased in conjunction with the increasing heat-treatment temperature.