Kinetics of curing process in carbon/epoxy nano-composites

Abstract

Epoxy resins are routinely used as adhesives, coatings, encapsulates, casting materials, and as matrix in composites. Their high crosslinking supposes too much rigidity, resulting in low toughness. Nano-filled addition could modify toughness, but it could also modify the curing process of the resin. Quality requirements of nano-composite (NC) imply a control of their curing process to ensure the mechanical properties of the material. Therefore, the aim of this work is to study the influence of carbon-based nano-fillers in the kinetics of curing of an epoxy resin. Three different methods are used in this work, Kissinger, Kamal and Model Free (MFK). The methods are complementary and provide information on the curing process of the nano-composites.