Improvements in thermal and mechanical properties of composites based on epoxy-carbon nanomaterials - A brief landscape

Abstract

After the transition of particles size from the micro to the nanoscale, polymeric composites started to be produced by different types of nanomaterials and showed better physical-chemical properties with multifunctional characteristics when compared to their conventional derivatives. In this context, nanocomposites based on carbon nanomaterials (CNMs) such as carbon nanotubes and graphene feature as cases of attractive unconventional materials for technological applications. An impressive number of works have been published, therefore the recent advances in polymeric nanocomposites based on epoxy and CNMs need to be addressed. Thus, this brief review is a useful guide to significantly update the state-of-the-art of these different composite systems, reporting their relevant improvements in thermal and mechanical properties over the past 10 years or more.