Effect of dispersion method on tribological properties of carbon nanotube reinforced epoxy resin composites

For the untreated CNTs, it seems that the wear resistance improves with increasing effort put into dispersion: sonication has a positive effect, sonication plus dual asymmetric centrifuge proves even better. A pre-treatment with HNO3 or a silane-coupling agent can improve the wear resistance of the composite. However, the pre-treated CNTs should be dispersed without the use of ultrasound, which seems to damage the pre-treated CNTs. The results showed that the wear resistance in general increases with improved dispersion and integrity of the CNTs.