Physical properties of a reactive graphitic nanofiber-reinforced epoxy

The dielectric constants and electrical and thermal conductivities of epoxy composites containing 0.2-0.5 wt.% of reactive graphitic nanofibers (r-GNFs) have been studied. A mixture of GNF-ODA nanofibers and diluent butyl glycidyl ether was sonicated by a sonifier with power level 70 W for 3 hours at room temperature and the length of the GNF-ODA nanofibers was reduced to 400-800 nm and the mixture left for 36 hours for reaction and r-GNFs were obtained. The ratio of solution r-GNF/BGE to 1:6 was obtained by vacuuming the solution in a vacuum oven. The curing agent, Epikure™ W was added to the epoxy resin, Epon 828 in a ratio of 24:100 by weight to produce pure epoxy matrix. A Keithley Instrument Model 6517A with 8009 fixture was used to measure the surface conductivity by applying a voltage of 500 V DC at ambient temperature. The results show that an optimum value (0.3 wt.%) exists between the insufficient material levels and the excessive agglomerating levels.