2.3.8. Thermomechanical Analyzer (TMA)

Q400 Thermomechanical analyzer (TMA) was employed to determine the bending properties of the nanocomposites with dynamic mode through the 3-point bending test. Samples were cooled to −150 ◦C at the cooling rate of 3 ◦C/min for 10 min, and subsequently heated to 150 ◦C at the heating rate of 3 ◦C/min. The modulate force was 0.01 N at a frequency of 1 Hz in an ambient gas atmosphere (50 mL/min), using a wedge-shaped quartz probe. The dimension of the samples was <sup>10</sup> × 3.4 × 0.5 mm3. The same equipment was employed for studying the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) via a flat-tipped standard expansion probe in an ambient gas atmosphere (50 mL/min). Flat samples with dimensions of 6 × <sup>6</sup> × 4 mm<sup>3</sup> were heated at 3 ◦C/min from room temperature to 100 ◦C. They were then held for 10 min, then cooled to 0 ◦C at the same rates of 3 ◦C/min, then held for 10 min, and subsequently heated at 3 ◦C/min to 120 ◦C, under a constant load of 0.05 N. The displacement was reset to zero at the start of the last sequence where the measurement started.
