Mechanical and electrical properties of carbon nanotube reinforced epoxide resin composites

Carbon nanotubes(CNTs)/epoxide resin composites were prepared,the mechanical and electrical properties of the composites were investigated. The effects of concentration and dispersion state of CNTs on the tensile strength,tensile modulus and electrical resistance of the composites were studied. The results indicate that the CNTs can be dispersed well in the epoxide resin matrix by ultrasonic method,and the mechanical and electrical properties of epoxide resin matrix can be improved significantly. The tensile tests show that the tensile strength and tensile modulus are higher than those of epoxide resin if the content of CNTs is less than 1.75%(mass fraction). When the content of CNTs is 0.75%,the conditional best results are obtained,the tensile strength of the composite is the highest,increased by 18.3% and the tensile modulus is increased by 20.5% compared with the matrix. With the increase of CNTs,the electrical resistance of the composites decreases greatly,while the conductivity of the composite increases. The percolation threshold values of electrical characteristic transformation for this composite material were determined for the first time.