The effect of carbon materials on the properties of epoxy

Nanostructured carbon composites can play important roles in lithium and other batteries. Preparation and characterisation of such composites are therefore important in further development of batteries. Carbon nanostructures including carbon nanotubes, nanoparticles and graphene can economically be produced in molten lithium chloride. The present work reports the influence of the molten salt synthesised carbon nanostructure filler and commercial graphite on the properties of epoxy resin. The carbon materials were incorporated into the polymer matrix to make composites. The carbon-epoxy composites produced were then characterized by a variety of techniques including scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffractometry, and dynamic mechanical analysis. The thermal and mechanical properties of the nanocomposites were also measured. It was found that addition of carbon materials can enhance the properties of the epoxy matrix considerably.