Evaluation of thermal and mechanical properties of carbon nano fiber reinforced SC-15 epoxy

In the present investigation we have developed a novel technique to fabricate nanocomposite materials containing SC-15 epoxy resin and carbon nano fiber (CNF). A high intensity ultrasonic liquid processor was used to obtain a homogeneous molecular mixture of epoxy resin and carbon nano fiber. The carbon nano fibers were infused into the part A of SC-15 (Diglycidylether of Bisphenol A) through sonic cavitations and then mixed with part B of SC-15 (cycloaliphatic amine hardener) using a high speed mechanical agitator. The trapped air and reaction volatiles were removed from the reaction mixture using high vacuum. TGA, DMA and 3-point bending tests were performed on unfilled, 1wt. %, 2wt. % and 4wt. % CNF filled SC-15 epoxy to identify the loading effect on thermal and mechanical properties of the composites. The flexural results indicate that both modulus and strength increased with increasing loading percentage of CNF. DMA studies also revealed that filling the carbon nano fiber into epoxy can improve storage modulus and Tg compared to neat system. However, TGA results show that thermal stability of composite insensitive to the fiber content. The fracture surfaces, dispersions and morphological changes of composites were studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM). These results indicate that the carbon nano fiber is about 200nm in the diameter and 20-100um in the length and are nearly uniformly dispersed over the entire volume of the resin.