KDZ conceived of the idea, participated in the discussion, and provided some useful suggestion. Both authors are involved in revising the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.”
“Background Nanocomposites (NCs) are the new frontier of materials in civil and military applications. In particular, polymer NCs are a hot spot in several research fields. As a general rule, NCs are prepared by dispersing a nanometer-sized filler into a polymer matrix creating a network able to improve the properties of a host polymer. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and, in particular, multiwalled

CNTs (MWCNTs) have been used intensively as a filler in a variety of polymers [1, 2]. Their outstanding mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties allow then to enhance the properties ACP-196 in vitro of the material in which they are used as a filler for matrix reinforcement [3]. Also, this increase in performance takes place even at low percentages of MWCNTs. A critical point is the MWCNT dispersion as reported by Bauhofer [4] because with an accurate dispersion, it is possible to lower the MWCNT amount required to improve host material performances. Recently, MWCNT composites have been proposed as microwave absorbers [5, 6] and for shielding applications [7–10]. For these applications, the ability to tailor

the values of complex permittivity with characteristics of the matrix and MWCNT concentration is critical. In this work, NCs based on MWCNTs and epoxy resin were prepared using an in situ selleck kinase inhibitor polymerization process. Special care was paid to avoid any imperfection in dispersion or

defects. The complex permittivity of epoxy resin and NC with 1 and 3 wt.% MWCNTs was measured in the frequency range 3 to 18 GHz using a 4EGI-1 commercial dielectric probe (Agilent 85070D; Agilent Technologies, Sta. Clara, CA, USA) and a network analyzer (E8361A; Agilent Technologies). The sample’s reproducibility was tested applying a statistical analysis based on a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) technique. Glycogen branching enzyme Methods In the NC fabrication process, one kind of MWCNT (NTX-3; Nanothinx, Rio Patras, Greece) was used as a filler at 1 and 3 wt.% concentrations. The nominal MWCNT characteristics were diameter 25 to 45 nm, length >10 μm, purity >98%. The nominal aspect ratio thus varies from 250 to 400 where an average of 325 is assumed in the following process. Epilox, a commercial thermosetting resin produced by Leuna-Harze (Leuna, Germany) was used as polymer matrix. It is a bi-component system formed by a resin and a hardener. Resin (T-19-36/700) is a modified commercial matter, colorless, and low-viscosity (650 to 750 mPa s at 25°C) epoxy resin with reduced crystallization tendency with a density of 1.14 g cm-3. The chemical composition of Epilox resin T19-36/700 is mainly bisphenol A (30 to 60 wt.%), with an addition of crystalline silica (quartz) (1 to 10 wt.%), glycidyl ether (1 to 10 wt.%), and inner fillers (10 to 60 wt.%).