Recent Advances in Characterization Techniques for the Interface in Carbon Nanotube-Reinforced Polymer Nanocomposites

Figure 15

(a) An individual single-walled carbon nanotube with short end-grafted chains. (b) Schematic diagram of an individual single-walled carbon nanotube functionalized with crosslinker diethylenetoluenediamine and embedded in an epoxy matrix. Carbon nanotubes are rendered in cyan. The color scheme for the functionalized diethylenetoluenediamine molecule (red: hydrogen and carbon atoms contained in methyl groups, yellow: nitrogen atoms, and blue: carbon atoms contained in benzene rings. (c) Schematic diagram of a single-walled carbon nanotube-epoxy nanocomposite with different interfacial thicknesses. The nanocomposite exists in an epoxy environment, with the carbon nanotube as heat source and the interfacial region close to the polymer matrix as heat sink (adapted with permission from references [229, 231]; copyright 2006, Elsevier Ltd. Copyright 2012, TMS.

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