Preparation and characterization of aligned carbon nanotubes/epoxy composite films

In carbon nanotube (CNT)/epoxy resin (EP) nanocomposites, the resin content and distribution, CNT orientation and CNT-resin interfacial strength are the key factors to fibrate the high-performance composites. In order to study the relationship between the resin distribution and the CNT/EP composite properties, CNT films prepared by floating catalytic chemical vapor deposition were impregnated by using EP and then stretched, washed and hot-press cured. The focus ion beam and scanning electron microscope were used to characterize the distribution of resin in the CNT/EP composites. The results show that, with the increase of resin content, the amount of resin on the composite surface is increasing and the average tensile strength and tensile modulus of CNT/EP composite with CNT content of 66.14wt% can be up to 1405 MPa and 46.7 GPa, respectively.