Multiscale carbon nanotube-carbon fiber reinforcement for advanced epoxy composites.
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.
Bekyarova
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E
Carbon Solutions Inc., Riverside, California 92507, USA.
Thostenson
E T
ET
Yu
A
A
Kim
H
H
Gao
J
J
Tang
J
J
Hahn
H T
HT
Chou
T-W
TW
Itkis
M E
ME
Haddon
R C
RC