Tunneling Atomic Force Microscopy analysis of supramolecularself-responsive nanocomposite

Raimondo*, M., et. al. Polymers, 2021, 13(9), 1401https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/13/9/1401

A big step forward for composite application in the sector of structural materials is given by the use of Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs) functionalized with hydrogen bonding moieties, such as barbiturate and thymine, to activate self-healing mechanisms and integrate additional functionalities. We report the characterization of rubber-toughened supramolecular self-healing epoxy formulations based on unfunctionalized and functionalized MWCNTs using Tunneling Atomic Force Microscopy (TUNA). TUNA proved to be very effective for the morphology study of both the unfunctionalized and functionalized carbon nanotube-based conductive networks, thus providing useful insights aimed at understanding the influence of the intrinsic nature of the nanocharge on the final properties of the multifunctional composites. © This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.