Carbon nanotube integrated multifunctional multiscale composites

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) demonstrate extraordinary properties and show great promise in enhancing out-of-plane properties of traditional polymer composites and enabling functionality, but current manufacturing challenges hinder the realization of their potential. This paper presents a method to fabricate multifunctional multiscale composites through an effective infiltration-based vacuum-assisted resin transfer moulding (VARTM) process. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were infused through and between glass-fibre tows along the through-thickness direction. Both pristine and functionalized MWNTs were used in fabricating multiscale glass-fibre-reinforced epoxy composites. It was demonstrated that the mechanical properties of multiscale composites were remarkably enhanced, especially in the functionalized MWNT multiscale composites. With only 1 wt% loading of functionalized MWNTs, tensile strength was increased by 14% and Young’s modulus by 20%, in comparison with conventional fibre-reinforced composites. Moreover, the shear strength and short-beam modulus were increased by 5% and 8%, respectively, indicating the improved inter-laminar properties. The strain–stress tests also suggested noticeable enhancement in toughness. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) characterization confirmed an enhanced interfacial bonding when functionalized MWNTs were integrated into epoxy/glass-fibre composites. The coefficient thermal expansion (CTE) of functionalized nanocomposites indicated a reduction of 25.2% compared with epoxy/glass-fibre composites. The desired improvement of electrical conductivities was also achieved. The multiscale composites indicated a way to leverage the benefits of CNTs and opened up new opportunities for high-performance multifunctional multiscale composites.

Influence of carbon nanotubes on the thermal, electrical and mechanical properties of poly(ether ether ketone)/glass fiber laminates

“…This combination of properties makes these materials particularly attractive for many applications in aerospace [1], automotive [2] and the 0008-6223/$ -see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.carbon.2011.03.011 energy sector, both in alternative energy, e.g.…”

“…The aforementioned techniques to develop ''multiscale'' materials have been explored primarily for carbon fiber-reinforced composites, and only a few studies have been reported on the effect of adding CNTs to glass fiber-reinforced composites [8,[12][13][14][15][16]. It should also be noted that, to date, most of the literature related to these composites refers to thermoset matrices, which are usually prepared by direct infusion of the CNT/polymer resin into the glass fabric through vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) [17] method.…”

Fabrication and Mechanical and Thermal Behaviour of Graphene Oxide/Epoxy Nanocomposites

“…Based on the result, it can be seen that GO significantly obstructs the epoxy curing reaction, leading to positive effect on molecular chain mobility. The less restriction on molecular chain mobility grounds to decrease the T g [35,36].…”

Fabrication and Characterization of Carbon Nanotube/Carbon Fiber/Polycarbonate Multiscale Hybrid Composites

“…Several researches have been reported on impregnation of CNTs into carbon fibers (CFs): infusion/impregnation of a CNT-resin mixture into the primary fiber assembly [8,9], direct growth of CNTs on reinforcement fiber surface through chemical vapor deposition (CVD) [10,11], direct placement of CNTs between layers of the preform [12], electrophoretic deposition onto the surface of fiber [13,14], electrostatic assembly of oxidized CNTs onto functionalized fiber [15] and coating of fiber with CNT-containing sizings [16][17][18][19][20]. Especially, the first and the third methods are widely used due to the easiness of application.…”