Cure kinetic study of carbon nanofibers/epoxy composites by isothermal DSC

Abstract

An investigation was carried out into the cure kinetics of carbon nanofibers (CNF)/epoxy composites, composed of tetraglycidyl-4,4'- diaminodiphenylmethane (TGDDM) resin and 4,4'-diaminodiphenylsulfone (DDS) as a curing agent. The experimental data for both neat system and CNF/epoxy composites revealed an autocatalytic behavior. Analysis of DSC data indicated that the presence of carbon nanofibers had only a negligible effect on the cure kinetics of the epoxy. Kinetic analysis was performed using the phenomenological model of Kamal and two diffusion factors were introduced to describe the cure reaction in the latter stage. Activation energies and kinetic parameters were determined by fitting experimental data. Comparison between the two diffusion factors was performed, showing that the modified factor was successfully applied to the experimental data over the whole curing temperature range. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.