Flame retardance and thermal stability of carbon nanotube epoxy composite prepared from sol-gel method

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are functionalized by vinyltriethoxysilane (VTES) to incorporate the -O-C2H5 functional group and become VTES-CNT. The VTES-CNTs are added to the modified DGEBA epoxy resin that contains silicon to induce the sol-gel reaction. The final products are organic/inorganic nanocomposites. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) are used to study the thermal property of nanocomposites. The T-g was increased from 118 to 160 degrees C and char yield of composites that contained 9 wt% CNT at 750 degrees C was increased by 46.94%. The integral procedural decomposition temperature (IPDT) was increased from 890 to 1571 degrees C. The limiting oxygen index (LOI) and UL-94 tests were classified as the flame retardance. The LOI of composites was increased from 22 to 27 and the UL-94 changed from V-1 to V-0 when the contents were increased to 9 wt%. The nanocomposites had a higher char yield and were highly flame retardant. The products can meet to the requirements of halogen-free and phosphorus-free ecological flame retardant. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.