## 3 Results and Discussion
### Dynamic Mechanical Analysis and Thermogravimetry
Therefore, when the specific composition of the resin studied in this work is taken into account, the mechanical properties reported for the unreinforced resin cured in the convection oven can be considered in line with similar studied systems. \(E^{\prime}\) at 25 \({}^{\circ}\)C for the unreinforced resin cured in the convection oven is significantly higher than that obtained by a similar sample, cured in the microwave (entry 1, Table 2), corroborating the idea that the rapid cure experienced by the samples cured in the microwave compromises the mechanical properties. Additionally, during the DMA experiments, the sample consistently broke prematurely, before \(T_{\text{g}}+50\)\({}^{\circ}\)C was attained (Table 2, entry 6). Unlike samples cured in the microwave, when a tung oil-based resin reinforced with CNTs is cured in a convection oven, a significant increase in \(E^{\prime}\) at 25 \({}^{\circ}\)C is observed (entries 6 and 7, Table 2), showing the reinforcement character of CNTs. A comparison of the \(E^{\prime}\) values at 25 \({}^{\circ}\)C and at \(T_{\text{g}}+50\)\({}^{\circ}\)C for composites reinforced with 0.25 wt % of CNTs cured in the microwave and in a convection oven (entries 5 and 7, Table 2) shows very clearly the detrimental effect of the expedite microwave cure to the mechanical properties of the material. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Entry** & **Cure Process** & \begin{tabular}{c} **Post-Cure** \\ **(140 °C)** \\ \end{tabular} & \begin{tabular}{c} **CNT Loading** \\ **(wt \%)** \\ \end{tabular} & \begin{tabular}{c} \(\mathbf{T_{\text{g}}}\) (\({}^{\circ}\)C)** \\ \end{tabular} & \begin{tabular}{c} \(\mathbf{E^{\prime}}\) at 25 \({}^{\circ}\)C \\ **(MPa)** \\ \end{tabular} & \begin{tabular}{c} \(\mathbf{E^{\prime}}\) at \(\mathbf{T_{\text{g}}+50\)\({}^{\circ}\)C} \\ **(MPa)** \\ \end{tabular} & \begin{tabular}{c} \(\mathbf{T_{\text{g}}}\) (\({}^{\circ}\)C)** \\ \end{tabular} & \
\begin{tabular}{c} \(\mathbf{T_{\text{g}}}\) (\({}^{\circ}\)C) \\ \end{tabular} &
\begin{tabular}{c} \(\mathbf{T_{\text{g}}}\) (\({}^{\circ}\)C) \\ \end{tabular} \\ \hline
1 & Microwave 1 & 2 h 10 min & 0.00 & 32.2 & 104.1 & 3.8 & 324 & 455 \\
2 & Microwave 2 & 2 h 10 min & 0.02 & 33.6 & 99.6 & 3.3 & 269 & 419 \\
3 & Microwave 3 & 2 h 10 min & 0.10 & 34.4 & 81.4 & 2.8 & 327 & 449 \\
4 & Microwave 3 & 2 h 10 min & 0.20 & 33.2 & 48.9 & 1.5 & 369 & 449 \\
5 & Microwave 3 & 2 h 10 min & 0.25 & 31.2 & 51.4 & 2.0 & 374 & 456 \\
6 & Oven 2 & 2 h 10 min & 0.00 & 28.3 & 154.0 & -2 & 320 & 455 \\
7 & Oven 2 & 2 h 10 min & 0.25 & 38.1 & 200.8 & 5.1 & 317 & 458 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
* Sample submitted to 10 min irradiation at 100 W, followed by 10 min irradiation at 200 W;
* Sample heated at 140 \({}^{\circ}\)C for 3 h 50 min in a convection oven;
* The sample broke consistently before \(T_{\text{g}}+50\)\({}^{\circ}\)C was attained;
* Temperature at which 10 wt % of the sample has degraded;
* Temperature at which 50 wt % of the sample has degraded.  
\end{table} 
Table 2: Glass transition temperature (\(T_{\text{g}}\)) and Storage modulus (\(E^{\prime}\)) at 25 \({}^{\circ}\)C as determined by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) results for samples cured either in a convection oven, or under microwaves. Despite the observed changes in storage modulus of samples cured in the microwave with different CNT loadings, the values measured for the \(T_{\mathrm{g}}\) of these samples are fairly consistent, varying only between 31.2 \({}^{\circ}\)C and 34.4 \({}^{\circ}\)C, with no regular pattern (entries 1-5, Table 2). For samples cured exclusively in a convection oven, however, addition of CNTs results in a significant increase of the \(T_{\mathrm{g}}\) (entries 6 and 7, Table 2).