## 3 Results and Discussion
### Dynamic Mechanical Analysis and Thermogravimetry  
From a theoretical standpoint, there is no difference in the number of polymerization sites between samples, since the cure reaction proceeds mostly by cationic initiation, and for all experiments the same amount of BFE was used. Nevertheless, it is known that increasing temperatures increase the transfer reaction during the cationic polymerization, which may result in lower molecular weights. When samples containing evenly dispersed CNTs are microwaved, localized heat is instantly generated at each CNT particle and immediately dissipated to the surrounding medium. Overall, a quicker and more homogeneous heating of the system is obtained in comparison to conventional heating, or microwaving in the absence of CNTs. In seeking shorter cure times by combining CNTs and microwaves, it has been observed that an increase in CNT loading results in faster heating rates. As a consequence, more monomer molecules are simultaneously heated, which leads to faster polymerization rates and overall lower mechanical properties (Figure 8). Furthermore, partial polymer degradation can also increase with increasing CNT loading, leading to poorer mechanical properties and higher soluble content, as will be discussed later in the text. In Table 2, a clear trend is observed for the decrease in storage modulus (\(E^{\prime}\)) at 25 \({}^{\circ}\)C as the CNT loading is increased from 0.00 to 0.20 wt % (entries 1-4, Table 2). When the CNT loading is increased from 0.20 to 0.25 wt % (entries 4 and 5, Table 2), a slight increase in \(E^{\prime}\) is observed. Indeed, an increase of only 0.05 wt % in CNTs is not sufficient to make an appreciable difference between the samples. The numbers are in fact very similar, with a difference of only 2.5 MPa. Consistent trends are observed when considering \(E^{\prime}\) at \(T_{\text{g}}\) + 50 \({}^{\circ}\)C.  
Figure 8: Storage modulus _vs._ temperature curves of a tung oil-based resin reinforced with different amounts of CNTs and cured under microwaves at 100 W for 10 min, followed by 200 W for 10 min, and a 2 h 10 min post-cure step at 140 \({}^{\circ}\)C in a convection oven. Figure 7: DSC curves of CNT/tung oil-based composites with various CNT loading, microwaved at 100 W for 10 min, followed by 200 W for 10 min, and a 2 h 10 min post-cure step at 140 \({}^{\circ}\)C in a convection oven. The CNT loading in the composites is (A) 0.02 wt %; (B) 0.10 wt %; (C) 0.20 wt %; and (D) 0.25 wt %. When the sample is cured exclusively in a convection oven, in the absence of CNTs (entry 6, Table 2), a storage modulus at 25 \({}^{\circ}\)C of 154 MPa is obtained. It is expected that the unique resin composition used in this work results in samples that exhibit mechanical properties different than similar systems, prepared by the cationic polymerization of vegetable oils and other comonomers. When one takes into consideration the relative concentrations of tung oil and divinylbenzene (DVB) in the resin composition, the observed values for storage modulus (\(E^{\prime}\)) at 25 \({}^{\circ}\)C reported here are in line with previously published data from similar systems. For example, it has been reported that cationic resins containing 54 wt % of tung oil and 35 wt % of DVB exhibit \(E^{\prime}\) at 25 \({}^{\circ}\)C of approximately 1050 MPa [38]. When the relative amount of oil in the resin is increased to 70 wt %, while the amount of DVB is decreased to 15 wt %, a natural decrease in the mechanical properties is expected. Hence, the observed value of 154 MPa for \(E^{\prime}\) at 25 \({}^{\circ}\)C for the unreinforced resin cured in the convection oven (Table 2, entry 6) is considered in line with previous studies. Likewise, it has been reported that cationic samples containing 45 wt % of olive or canola oils and 15 wt % of DVB exhibit room temperature \(E^{\prime}\) values of 220 MPa and 450 MPa, respectively [40]. These values show the variability in mechanical properties with changes in the resin composition.