Preparation and characterization of nanocomposites based on amino group-terminated multi-wall carbon nanotubes and bismaleimide resin

In this work, a novel nanocomposite consisting of bismaleimide resin (BMI) and amino group-terminated multi-wall carbon nanotubes (NH2-MWNTs) have been discussed. The fluorinating MWNTs (F-MWNTs) were synthesized by solid-phase method and the NH2-MWNTs were prepared by interaction of the F-MWNTs with 1,2-diaminoethane. The NH2-MWNTs/BMI nanocomposites have been prepared by solution blend method. Their morphology and properties were characterized by transmission electron microscope, fourier transmission infrared, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, etc. The results showed that impurities in the MWNTs were removed after the purification treatment and amine groups have been successfully attached to the purified MWNTs. The impact strength of the NH2-MWNTs/BMI nanocomposites increased firstly as the NH2-MWNTs increased and then decreased. When the content of the NH2-MWNTs is 0.6 wt%, the impact strength of nanocomposites is optimal (about 12.57 kJ/m2) which increase by 58.51% compared with the neat BMI resin.