Reinforcing epoxy resin with nitrogen doped carbon nanotube: A potential lightweight structure material

The outstanding mechanical properties of nanocarbon materials, especially carbon nanotube (CNT), make them one of the most promising reinforcing nanofillers for the high-performance lightweight structural material. However, the complicated but not eco-friendly surface functionalization processes (e.g. HNO3 oxidation) are generally necessary to help disperse nanocarbon materials into epoxy or build chemical bonds between them. Herein, nitrogen doped carbon nanotube (NCNT) was used to replace CNT to reinforce the epoxy resin, and the mechanical properties of the NCNT/epoxy nanocomposite showed significant superiorities over the CNT/epoxy nanocomposites. The fabrication process was simple and environmentally friendly, and avoided complicated, polluting and energy intensive surface functionalization processes. Moreover, the NCNT/epoxy suspension exhibited a relative low viscosity, which was favorable for the subsequent application. The reinforcing mechanism of NCNT was also proposed. The present work gives out an easy solution to the preparation of a high-performance nanocomposite as a potential lightweight structure material.