Thermo-mechanical properties and electrical mapping of nanoscale domains of carbon-based structural resins

Carbon nanostructured forms, such as one-dimensional (1D) carbon nanofibers (CNFs) and two-dimensional (2D) graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs), are increasingly attracting the attention of scientists whose studies are aimed at obtaining superior nanocomposites with unrivaled performance and/or unprecedented properties. In this work, nanocomposites loaded with different mass percentages of carbonaceous nanoparticles (CNFs, GNPs) capable to exhibit discrete electrical conductivity have been investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and tunneling atomic force microscopy (TUNA). DSC and DMA investigations highlighted that an appropriate chemical composition of the hosting matrix, together with a suitable two-stage curing cycle allows formulating structural resins characterized by high values of the curing degree (higher than 97%), glass transition temperature (also higher than 250 °C), and storage modulus (higher than 3000 MPa at room temperature). TUNA analysis evidences a satisfactory distribution of the conductive nanofiller on nanometric domains.