Water‐induced degradations in MWCNT embedded glass fiber/epoxy composites: An emphasis on aging temperature

This article is focused to elucidate the critical influence of diffusion temperature on the water uptake and subsequent degradation behavior of multi‐walled carbon nanotube embedded glass fiber/epoxy (MWCNT‐GE) composite. Presence of MWCNT in the glass fiber/epoxy (GE) composite significantly suppressed its water absorption propensity at lower aging temperature (25 °C). However, MWCNT reinforcement in GE composite adversely affected its high temperature water resistance due to generation of unfavorable thermal and hygroscopic stresses at the MWCNT/polymer interfaces. Effect of MWCNT and water diffusion temperature on the glass transition temperature and chemical bonding characteristics of GE composite have been verified by differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy. Flexural testing of the water saturated samples revealed that diffused water exerts more detrimental effect on mechanical performance of MWCNT‐GE composite than that of control GE composite. The extent of recovery in mechanical performance of the composites has also been evaluated after complete desorption of the water saturated samples.