Alignment of multiwalled carbon nanotubes-reinforced epoxy by a novel shear assisted method in the presence of the electric field

The application of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) alignment associated with external field techniques is fairly limited in the industry due to the cost implications of scaling such external fields. To address this problem, a new shear-assisted method is introduced to increase the effectiveness of MWCNTs alignment techniques using electric field. In addition, the effect of curing temperature of polymer in CNT-reinforced nanocomposites, is studied on the alignment of MWCNTs using our novel shear-assisted technique. The results show that increasing the temperature during the curing process of the polymer can help with the alignment of MWCNTs using our shear-assisted technique. This may be attributed to lower gel-time of polymer matrix at high temperatures that can prevent agglomeration of the MWCNTs in the matrix. Moreover, fractography of reinforced composites has been studied by scanning electron microscopy to investigate the effects of curing temperature on the alignment of MWCNTs in the epoxy matrix.