Abstract
We investigated the effects of carbon nanotube (CNT) modification with silane on the flexural and fracture behaviors of modified carbon nanotube epoxy/basalt (CNT/epoxy/basalt) composites. Flexural and mode I fracture tests were performed using acid-treated and silane-treated CNT/epoxy/basalt composites, respectively. FT-IR analysis was conducted to determine the chemical change on the surface of basalt fiber due to the silane modification. After the fracture tests, the fracture surfaces of the CNT/epoxy/basalt composites were examined with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to investigate the fracture mechanisms of the CNT/epoxy/basalt composites, depending on the CNT modification. The results show that the flexural modulus and strength of silane-treated CNT/epoxy/basalt composites are ∼10% and ∼14% greater, respectively, than those of acid-treated CNT/epoxy/basalt composites. The fracture toughness G Ic of silane-treated CNT/epoxy/basalt composites was ∼40% greater than that of acid-treated CNT/epoxy/basalt composites. SEM examination revealed that the improvement in the flexural and fracture properties of silane-treated CNT/epoxy/basalt composites occurred due to enhanced dispersion and interfacial interaction between the silane-modified CNTs and the epoxy.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2298-2302 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Composites Part B: Engineering |
| Volume | 43 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jul 2012 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (2010-0023106).
Keywords
- A. Polymer-matrix composites
- B. Mechanical properties
- E. Surface treatments