## 1 Introduction
The study of CNT composites with bio-based resins has, so far, focused heavily on the use of polylactic acid as the matrix [28], finding application mainly in the biomedical field [29]. Nevertheless, vegetable oil-based thermosetting resins have been reinforced with continuous glass fibers and cationically cured at 110 \({}^{\circ}\)C [30], which suggests that cationic tung oil resins may be cured in a similar fashion in the presence of CNTs. Microwave reactions have been used to speed-up and simplify reactions by removing the need for a solvent [31]. For example, amides have been synthesized with the Aza-Wittig reaction under microwaves in the absence of a solvent [31]. The conducting behavior of CNTs can be utilized for the fabrication of electrochemical sensors [32]. Indeed, multiwalled CNTs modified with tin oxide, have been used to detect levofloxacin [32]. The microwave absorbing properties of metallic and aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) have been proposed as a purification procedure during the preparation of semi-conductive CNTs, as well as for a new illumination technology [33]. More recently, the deposition of various metal nanoparticles on MWCNTs has been achieved after the instantaneous decomposition of transition metal acetates under microwaves [34]. It has also been shown that the efficient carbothermal reduction of copper oxide (CuO) can be achieved by microwave heating in the presence of MWCNTs [35]. The key to CNT-assisted microwave reactions lies in carbon's ability to intensely absorb microwaves, which leads to rapid heating. These properties of CNTs have been used in the curing of epoxy resins to yield CNT composites with better dielectric properties than composites prepared with conventional heating [36,37]. Despite the aforementioned interesting examples, reports on the effect of microwave heating of CNTs on the cure and thermo-mechanical properties of polymeric resins are scarce. After preliminary trials, it was quickly noticed that the properties of tung oil-based CNT composites cured under microwaves differed greatly from those of similar composites, with the same composition, cured in a regular convection oven. In addition to a significantly reduced cure time, the former presented obvious lower overall mechanical properties than the latter. The current work provides a careful investigation of the effects of a fast microwave cure on the thermo-mechanical properties of tung oil-based CNT composites. In the presence of CNTs, the heating effect of microwaves is magnified. This phenomenon is used here in order to significantly reduce the cure time of tung oil-based thermosets. A thorough evaluation of the CNT-assisted microwave cure of cationic co-polymers has been carried out. A brief study of the cure-kinetics of the cationic co-polymerization of tung oil, DVB, and ST under microwaves, with and without CNTs, is presented on the basis of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and Soxhlet extraction results. The influence of CNT loading on reaction time and completeness is shown. Strongemphasis is given to the impact of microwave cure on the mechanical properties of the final materials by a comparison of Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) results of samples cured under microwaves and conventional heating. This work shows that cure times can be significantly reduced at the expense of mechanical properties when microwaves are used as the heating source in the presence of CNTs. The findings reported in this manuscript are relevant for furthering the understanding of the fundamentals of microwave effects in the cure-kinetics of thermosets in the presence of CNTs. The goal of this manuscript is to demonstrate that the combination of microwaves and CNTs for the fast cure of thermosetting composites is indeed detrimental to the mechanical properties of the system, despite the great reduction in cure time.