Investigation of the Effect of Low‐Concentration Carbon Oxide Nanohorns on the Properties of Epoxy Resins

ABSTRACT The inherent brittle nature and poor impact resistance of epoxy resin severely restrict its potential application in complex environments. To overcome these limitations, this study focuses on the influence of varying amounts of single‐walled carbon nanohorns (SWCNHs) on the mechanical performance of epoxy resin composites. The incorporation of nitric acid‐treated oxidized SWCNHs (O‐SWCNHs) within the epoxy resin demonstrated significantly improved mechanical properties. Adding 0.15 wt% content to the composite displayed outstanding comprehensive performance, achieving a maximum value of tensile strength (73.4 ± 8.1 MPa), elongation at break (4.78% ± 0.05%), and impact strength (36.4 ± 1.9 kJ/m ² ), which were 37.7%, 24.5%, and 89.5% higher than those of pure epoxy resin. With increasing the O‐SWCNH content to 0.20 wt%, the Young's modulus demonstrated a maximum value of 2.77 ± 0.4 GPa, almost 46.6% higher compared with the pure epoxy resin. The findings revealed that low addition of O‐SWCNH (0.15 wt%) demonstrated improved strength and toughness of epoxy resin, primarily attributed to the oxidation mediated enhancement in dispersion and interface stress transfer. This study provides an innovative approach for preparing high‐performance aerospace composite materials.