In-situ observation of electric field assisted alignment of titanium dioxide nanowires in epoxy resin

This work investigates the alignment of titania nanowires in uncured liquid epoxy by electric field. Epoxy added by anhydride and amine hardeners were studied separately. Purchased titania nanowires which contained sodium titanium oxide and synthesized titania nanowires with anatase crystal were both studied. This work shows that the alignment structure of purchased nanowires can be achieved in both anhydride/epoxy and amine/epoxy system at different temperature. The detailed process of alignment was observed. To achieve the desirable alignment structure in epoxy resin, the study finds that the condition and procedure of alignment should be modified according to the variety of hardeners and nanowires. The different alignment ability of two kinds of nanowires in epoxy were discussed theoretically. This work gives a reference to the fabrication of epoxy composites with anisotropic properties and has the potential to strengthen the electrical performance of epoxy in desired direction.