Effect of Surfactants on the Dispersion of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Epoxy Resin

In order to improve the dispersion homogeneity and stabilization of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNT) in epoxy resin, the effect of different surfactants such as hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (HTAB), sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), oleic acid, Triton X-100 and BYK-9077 on the dispersion of MWNT were investigated. Suspensions of MWNTs/epoxy resin with various surfactants were prepared by ultrasonic agitation. Dispersion homogeneity of MWNT in epoxy resin was evaluated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and dispersion stabilization was evaluated by stationary observation. The results show that dispersion properties were not improved by HTAB, while they were improved incoordinately by SDS, oleic acid, Triton X-100 and BYK-9077. Suspensions of MWNTs/epoxy resin with HTAB, SDS, oleic acid and Triton X-100 were all delaminated quickly, it means, dispersion stabilization were not improved by these surfactants. BYK-9077 was the only surfactant which enhanced the dispersion homogeneity and stabilization of MWNTs/epoxy resin significantly. Based on this research, various weight ratios of surfactant BYK-9077 to MWNT were studied. The experimental results show that the dispersion system could reach a balance state when the ratio of surfactant BYK-9077 to MWN was 2.