Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) was solubilized in N,N-dimethyl formamide (DMF) and the electrospinning process has been employed to obtain PAN nanofibers (PF). Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) were dispersed with the aid of Triton X-100 surfactant and subsequently centrifugated. Buckypapers (BP/PF) were prepared by vacuum filtration procedure of MWCNT suspension supernatant stacking four PF layers over a nylon membrane. The PF removal was carried out by immersing the BP/PF system in DMF and removal periods of 10 and 30 min were evaluated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has not shown any PAN residue in the MWCNT network resulting in highly porous BP. However, by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) a PAN band was found around of 2243 cm−1 corresponding to nitrile group (C≡N). Besides, PAN leftover was evidenced by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), electrical characterization through four-point probe, nitrogen adsorption at 77 K, and X-ray diffraction (XRD).
In this work, multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) were dispersed in water with the assistance of water based surfactant and then sonicated in order to obtain a very well dispersed solution. The suspension was filtrate under vaccum conditions, generating a thin film called buckypapers (BP). Poly (phenylene sulphide) (PPS) reinforced carbon fiber (CF) and PPS reinforced CF/BP composites were manufactured through hot compression molding technique. Subsequently the samples were exposed to extreme humidity (90% of moisture) combined with high temperature (80 °C). The mechanical properties of the laminates were evaluated by dynamic mechanical analysis, compression shear test, interlaminar shear strength and impulse excitation of vibration. Volume fraction of pores were 10.93% for PPS/CF and 16.18% for PPS/BP/CF, indicating that the hot compression molding parameters employed in this investigation (1.4 MPa, 5 min and 330 °C) affected both the consolidation quality of the composites and the mechanical properties of the final laminates.
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