Improving mechanical properties of high volume fraction aligned multi-walled carbon nanotube/epoxy composites by stretching and pressing

Abstract

a b s t r a c tAligned multi-walled carbon nanotube (CNT) sheets produced from aligned CNT arrays were used to develop high volume fraction CNT/epoxy composites. Stretching and pressing techniques were applied during CNT sheet processing to straighten the wavy CNTs and to enhance the dense packing of CNTs in the sheets. Raman spectra measurements showed better CNT alignment in the CNT sheets and the composites after stretching and pressing. Aligned CNT/epoxy composites with CNT volume fraction up to 63.4% were developed using hot-melt prepreg processing with a vacuum-assisted system. Stretching and pressing of the CNT sheets enhanced the mechanical properties of high volume fraction CNT/epoxy composites considerably. Stretching and pressing increased tensile strength of the composites by 32% and elastic modulus of the composites by 27%. Applying stretching and pressing is effective for production of superior CNT sheets with high alignment and dense packing of CNTs, thereby supporting the development of high-performance CNT composites.

The effect of MWCNT on dynamic mechanical properties and crystallinity of in situ polymerized polyamide 12 nanocomposite

“…The filler is usually mixed into the monomer, and the polymerization is initiated by the addition of activator and catalyst. Due to the initially very low viscosity of the matrix, a good penetration of the MWCNT results in an easier dispersion within the monomer …”

“…Due to the initially very low viscosity of the matrix, a good penetration of the MWCNT results in an easier dispersion within the monomer. 24 In one of the works done by Cheng et al, 25 a high volume fraction of highly aligned CNTs were homogeneously dispersed in an epoxy matrix in order to investigate the thermoset nanocomposite containing CNT.…”

High mechanical and tribological performance of polyimide nanocomposite reinforced by fluorinated graphene oxide

“…Usually, the G band is resulted from sp 2 carbon atoms vibrating in the plane, while the D band is known as a disordered vibration band revealing structural defects in the graphene sample. Therefore, defect density is proportional to intensity ratio between the D band and G band (I D /I G ) . The I D /I G value of FGO is slightly higher than rGO, which is attributed to the existence of the F element after HF treatment.…”

A new approach to fabricate carbon fiber reinforced polymer with roller pre‐stretching method and characterization of their mechanical properties

“…Furthermore, there are several studies conducted to increase the strength properties of the composite materials by increasing fibers linearity . Di et al investigated the stretching effect of mechanical properties on large‐scale carbon nanotube (CNT) films where CNTs were randomly aligned.…”