Glass Transition Temperature of Phenolic-Based Nanocomposites Reinforced by MWNTs and Carbon Fibers

The multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) and carbon fibers (CFs) were added to the phenolic resin to fabricate MWNTs/phenolic, MWNTs/CFs/phenolic nanocomposites and CFs/phenolic composites by hot press method. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) test was performed for the above-mentioned three kinds of composites. The valley points on the slope of endothermic responses correspond to the glass transition temperatures of the composites. The MWNTs/phenolic nanocomposites had the lowest glass transition temperature among the three kinds of composites discussed, which indicated a better thermal conductivity property of MWNTs. Phenolic-based composites reinforced by different weight percentages of MWNTs and CFs were also investigated. The tensile failure morphologies of nanocomposite specimens were examined using a scanning electron microscope to evaluate the possible effects on the glass transition temperature of nanocomposites..