The effect of carbon nanofibres on self-healing epoxy/poly(ε-caprolactone) blends

The effects of carbon nanofibres (CNFs) on the mechanical performance and healing efficiency of self-healing epoxy/poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) blends were examined. Through a simple polymer blending process, phase-separated epoxy/PCL blends were prepared, which showed self-healing capability upon thermal activation. The introduction of CNFs into a co-continuous phase-structured epoxy/PCL system, at the content of as low as 0.2 wt.%, has been found to yield combinational improvements in the flexural strength, tensile strength, toughness and hardness with no adverse effect on the self-healing performance. Significantly enhanced mechanical performance by low content of CNFs enables the development of epoxies and advanced polymer composites with longer service life and less maintenance. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.