title: Multiscale carbon nanotube-carbon fiber reinforcement for advanced epoxy composites.
abstract: We report an approach to the development of advanced structural composites based on engineered multiscale carbon nanotube-carbon fiber reinforcement. Electrophoresis was utilized for the selective deposition of multi- and single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on woven carbon fabric. The CNT-coated carbon fabric panels were subsequently infiltrated with epoxy resin using vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) to fabricate multiscale hybrid composites in which the nanotubes were completely integrated into the fiber bundles and reinforced the matrix-rich regions. The carbon nanotube/carbon fabric/epoxy composites showed approximately 30% enhancement of the interlaminar shear strength as compared to that of carbon fiber/epoxy composites without carbon nanotubes and demonstrate significantly improved out-of-plane electrical conductivity.
authors.affiliation: Carbon Solutions Inc., Riverside, California 92507, USA.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bekyarova
authors.forename: E T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Thostenson
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: H T
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Hahn
authors.forename: T-W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Chou
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Itkis
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Haddon