Figure 3

Thermal and mechanical properties of the CNPs filled with soft epoxy resin. (a) Temperature dependence of E’ and tanδ for CNP-E2 and CNP-E3 determined by DMA at a frequency of 1 Hz and the heating rate of 2 °C/min. (b) Stress–strain curves of CNP-E2 measured at room temperature and 80 °C, CNP-E3 at room temperature, and the bulk thermoset of E2 at room temperature. (c) SEM image of the fracture surface of CNP-E2 after the tensile test. Some gaps are detected at the interface of the two components. The right image is expanded and red ellipsoids indicate the formation of large gaps between the first and second components. In these SEM images, each co-continuous domain of the two different epoxies is distinctly observed. Smaller pores with a size less than a micrometer are seen in the monolith skeleton, being formed by a secondary phase separation during the first fabrication process of the epoxy monolith (see also ref. 30). (d) Photographs of the folded and tied CNP-E2. For the fabrication of the CNPs filled with epoxy resins, M120A was used as the monolith sheet.