Effect of Gamma Ray Irradiation on the Mechanical and Thermal Properties of MWNTs Reinforced Epoxy Resins

Epoxy resins are widely used as high performance thermosets in many industrial applications, such as coatings, adhesives and composites. Recently, a lot of research has been carried out in order to improve their mechanical properties and thermal stability in various fields. Carbon nanotubes possess high physical and mechanical properties that are considered to be ideal reinforcing materials in composites. CNT-reinforced epoxy system hold the promise of delivering superior composite materials with their high strength, light weight and multi functional features. Therefore, this study used multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNT) and gamma rays to improve the mechanical and thermal properties of epoxy. The diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) as epoxy resins were cured by gamma ray irradiation with well-dispersed MWNTs as a reinforcing agent and triarylsulfonium hexafluoroantimonate (TASHFA) as an initiator. The flexural modulus was measured by UTM (universal testing machine). At this point, the flexural modulus factor exhibits an upper limit at 0.1 wt% MWNT. The thermal properties had improved by increasing the content of MWNT in the result of TGA (thermogravimetric analysis). However, they were decreased with increasing the radiation dose. The change of glass transition temperature by the radiation dose was characterized by DMA (dynamic mechanical analysis).