Improvement of Fracture Toughness in Epoxy Nanocomposites through Chemical Hybridization of Carbon Nanotubes and Alumina

The current study investigated the effect of adding a carbon nanotube–alumina (CNT–Al(2)O(3)) hybrid on the fracture toughness of epoxy nanocomposites. The CNT–Al(2)O(3) hybrid was synthesised by growing CNTs on Al(2)O(3) particles via the chemical vapour deposition method. The CNTs were strongly attached onto the Al(2)O(3) particles, which served to transport and disperse the CNTs homogenously, and to prevent agglomeration in the CNTs. The experimental results demonstrated that the CNT–Al(2)O(3) hybrid-filled epoxy nanocomposites showed improvement in terms of the fracture toughness, as indicated by an increase of up to 26% in the critical stress intensity factor, K(1C), compared to neat epoxy.