Mechanical and strain sensing properties of carbon nanotube reinforced epoxy/poly(caprolactone) blends

Mechanical and strain sensing behavior of polycaprolactone (PCL) epoxy blends reinforced with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) has been studied. It was observed that glass transition temperature generally decreases with PCL content while the effect of CNT is more complex, leading to an initial increase and t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polymer (Guilford) 2020-03, Vol.190, p.122236, Article 122236
Main Authors: Sánchez-Romate, Xoan F., Martín, Jonathan, Jiménez-Suárez, Alberto, Prolongo, Silvia G., Ureña, Alejandro
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Carbon nanotubes
Carbon-epoxy composites
Crosslinking
Glass transition temperature
Mechanical properties
Mechanical tests
Miscibility
Nanocomposites
Nanotechnology
Nanotubes
Polycaprolactone
Polymer blends
Strain
Strain sensing
Transition temperatures
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Summary:Mechanical and strain sensing behavior of polycaprolactone (PCL) epoxy blends reinforced with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) has been studied. It was observed that glass transition temperature generally decreases with PCL content while the effect of CNT is more complex, leading to an initial increase and then a sudden decrease when comparing to neat PCL/epoxy samples. It is explained by the increasing miscibility of PCL in the epoxy system, being more significant in presence of properly dispersed nanofillers, promoting a decrease of cross-linking degree. Concerning the mechanical behavior, CNT addition does not have an effective reinforcing effect, as expected, because of the increasing miscibility of PCL. In addition, PCL nanocomposites have a linear electrical response to applied strain, showing a high potential as sensors. Moreover, electrical sensitivity decreases with PCL content due to a higher deformation of PCL in comparison to epoxy matrix, corroborated by in situ microstructural characterization during mechanical tests, leading to a reduction in the tunneling distance between adjacent CNTs. [Display omitted] •Tg of PCL/epoxy nanocomposites decreases with PCL and CNT content.•Miscibility of PCL increases with CNT content due to their pinning effect.•Good linear electrical response to applied strain is achieved.•Sensitivity decreases with PCL due to a higher deformation than epoxy system.
ISSN:0032-3861
1873-2291
DOI:10.1016/j.polymer.2020.122236