© Smithers Information Ltd. 2016 217 Cellular Polymers, Vol. 35, No. 5, 2016 Enhancement of Carbon Nanofibers Dispersion on Epoxy Resin Foams Leading to Remarkable Electrical Conductivity Improvement Enhancement of Carbon Nanofibers Dispersion on Epoxy Resin Foams Leading to Remarkable Electrical Conductivity Improvement J. Pinto 1,2 , D. Velasco 1 , S.B. Sutil 1 , M. Boucher 1 , and M.A. Rodriguez-Perez 1 1 Cellular Materials Laboratory (CellMat), Condensed Matter Physics Department, University of Valladolid, 47011 Valladolid, Spain 2 Smart Materials, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Via Morego 30, 16163 Genova, Italy Received: 10 August 2015, Accepted: 20 January 2016 SUMMARY A simple procedure to evaluate and improve the dispersion of carbon nanofibers is presented and validated, relating the observed dispersion of the nanofibers in an intermediate stage of the production process to the final macroscopic properties of the foams. Epoxy/carbon nanofiber foams with optimal nanofiber dispersion are produced taking advantage of this procedure using inexpensive industrial vapor grown carbon nanofibers. Furthermore, the main characteristics and the electrical resistivity of the foams with improved nanofibers dispersion have been determined and related to the presence of the carbon nanofibers, greatly enhancing the electrical conductivity of the epoxy/carbon nanofiber foams. Keywords: Carbon nanofibers, Epoxy resin, Polymer foams, Electrical resistivity 1. INTRODUCTION Epoxy resins are relevant and well-known in material engineering due to their excellent performance in different applications [1, 2], as well as their exceptionally good electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties [3]. Epoxy resin-based materials are widely used as polymeric matrix for manufacturing