title: Functionalized carbon-nanotube sheet/bismaleimide nanocomposites: mechanical and electrical performance beyond carbon-fiber composites.
abstract: Since their discovery in 1991, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been considered as the next-generation reinforcement materials to potentially replace conventional carbon fibers for producing super-high-performance lightweight composites. Herein, it is reported that sheets of millimeter-long multi-walled CNTs with stretch alignment and epoxidation functionalization reinforce bismaleimide resin, which results in composites with an unprecedentedly high tensile strength of 3081 MPa and modulus of 350 GPa, well exceeding those of state-of-the-art unidirectional carbon-fiber-reinforced composites. The results also provide important experimental evidence of the impact of functionalization and the effect of alignment reported previously on the mechanical performance and electrical conductivity of the nanocomposites.
authors.affiliation: High-Performance Materials Institute (HPMI), FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32310, USA.
authors.forename: Qunfeng
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Chuck
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zhiyong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liang
mesh_terms: D055119:Elastic Modulus; D004560:Electricity; D008301:Maleimides / Q000737:chemistry*; D008422:Materials Testing; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry*; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013718:Tensile Strength; D044366:Transition Temperature
chemical_list: D008301:Maleimides; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon