Preparation of epoxy composites with CTAB‐modified BN and MWCNTs

In this study, multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and boron nitride (BN) were functionalized with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) at both pH 5.5 and pH 11. These MWCNT‐CTAB and BN‐CTAB particles used to prepare the composites were dispersed in a bisphenol A (DGEBA)‐type epoxy resin (ER) system at room temperature. The TGA analysis showed that the BN composite can significantly improve the thermal stability of neat ER at temperatures above 400 °C. The curing degrees of the nanocomposites were calculated to be approximately the same values as neat ER using the Beer–Lambert law from FTIR spectra. The best electrical conductivity of the composites obtained was 3.10 × 10⁻³ S/cm for ER/MWCNT‐CTAB (pH 5.5). The surface hardness, Young's modulus, and tensile strength of the composites were examined. The surface hardness values of the ER/MWCNT‐CTAB composites were higher than those of the other composites. The composite morphology was characterized using X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). POLYM. COMPOS., 37:3423–3432, 2016. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers