Effect of aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes induced by electric field on properties of multiwalled carbon nanotubes/epoxy resin composites

The uniformly dispersed and aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)/epoxy resin composite was prepared by alternating current (AC) electric field induction method. The effects of electric field intensity, MWCNTs content, applying electric field time and temperature (viscosity) on the alignment of MWCNTs were studied by SEM and polarization Raman spectroscop.The influence of MWCNTs alignment on the electrical and mechanical properties of MWCNTs/epoxy resin composites was discussed. The results show that the MWCNTs are aligned in the direction of electric field, the Raman intensity of MWCNTs/epoxy resin composites after being exposed to the electric field is significantly higher than that of the unapplied electric field. When MWCNTs content increases from 0wt% to 0.025wt%, the electrical conductivity increases from 2.3×10^-12 S/cm to 1.3×10^-8 S/cm by about 4 orders of magnitude. The tensile-shear strength of MWCNTs/epoxy resin composites increases by 26.3%, when MWCNTs content is 2.5wt%.