Reinforcement and toughening mechanisms in polymer nanocomposites – Carbon nanotubes and aluminum oxide

The addition of nanoparticles has been reported as an option to increase the fracture toughness of thermosetting polymers without compromising the stiffness. In this paper, alumina or carbon nanotubes (CNTs), in three different concentrations, were dispersed in an epoxy resin. Mechanical properties were measured through tensile test and the results indicate increases for all nanocomposites, with a maximum for the addition of 0.5% of CNTs (17% in...