Use of plasma fluorinated single-walled carbon nanotubes for the preparation of nanocomposites with epoxy matrix

In this work we propose a methodology showing how plasma fluorinated single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) reacted with a primary aliphatic amine (i.e. butylamine, BAM) hardener (BAM-SWNTs) can be used for preparing an integrated nanotube composite material. The results show that BAM-SWNTs act as a strong catalyst with the emergence of specific interactions of cross-linking between the epoxy and amino-functionalized SWNTs during the cure reaction as confirmed by Raman spectroscopy, thermal and dynamic mechanical analysis. Scanning electronic microscopy images showed that the amino functionalized nanotubes have a better dispersion in the polymer matrix. Moreover, the obtained nanocomposites present an improvement in mechanical strength with respect to those prepared with un-functionalized SWNTs.