Morphological and Spectroscopic Characterization of Multifunctional Self-Healing Systems

Multifunctional self-healing supramolecular structural toughened resins, formulated to counteract the insulating properties of epoxy polymers and integrating auto-repair mechanisms, are morphologically and spectroscopically characterized using Tunneling Atomic Force Microscopy (TUNA) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), respectively. Specifically, the multifunctional resin comprises self-healing molecular fillers and electrically conductive carbon nanotubes (CNTs) embedded in the matrix. The selected self-healing molecules can form non-covalent bonds with the hydroxyl (OH) and carbonyl (C=O) groups of the toughened epoxy matrix through their H-bonding donor and acceptor sites. An FT-IR analysis has been conducted to evaluate the interactions that the barbiturate acid derivatives, serving as self-healing fillers, can form with the constituent parts of the toughened epoxy blend. Tunneling Atomic Force Microscopy (TUNA) highlights the morphological characteristics of CNTs, their dispersion within the polymeric matrix, and their affinity for the globular rubber domains. The TUNA technique maps the samples’ electrical conductivity at micro- and nanoscale spatial domains. Detecting electrical currents reveals supramolecular networks, determined by hydrogen bonds, within the samples, showcasing the morphological features of the sample containing an embedded conductive nanofiller in the hosting matrix.