effect of microwave cure on the thermo-mechanical properties of tung oil-based/carbon nanotube composites

Tung oil is uniquely reactive among plant-based natural oils due to the series ofconjugated carbon-carbon double bonds in its fatty acid chains. These conjugatedcarbon-carbon double bonds impart a high reactivity towards cationic polymerization in thepresence of other reactive co-monomers, such as divinylbenzene and styrene. An impressivedecrease in the cure time of tung oil-based thermosets has been achieved when the resinsinvestigated were microwaved in the presence of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). However, thefast cure compromised the overall thermo-mechanical properties of the materialsinvestigated. Microwave power, exposure time, and CNT loading effects have been assessedby means of dielectric analysis (DEA), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differentialscanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and proton nuclearmagnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy of extracts obtained by Soxhlet extraction.Possible reasons were proposed to explain the overall inferior properties observed wheneverfaster cure rates were achieved.