Tensile, Electrical Conductivity, and Morphological Properties of Carbon Black-Filled Epoxy Composites

Abstract

This work investigates the effect of carbon black content on the tensile, electrical, and morphological properties of epoxy matrix. Carbon black-filled epoxy composites were obtained by mixing the desired amount of carbon black from bamboo stem (BS-CB), oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB-CB), and coconut shell (CNS-CB) with the epoxy resin. Tensile and electrical properties of carbon black from three different sources (BS-CB, EFB-CB, and CNS-CB) used to fill epoxy composite with 5% filler loading were measured and the results indicated improvement in tensile and electrical properties. The diffraction patterns of X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicated nonlinear crystalline amorphous structure of the CB. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.