Structure,mechanical and thermal properties of BMI/E-44/CNTs ternary composites via amination method

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes(CNTs) were modified by an amination treatment with hexamethylenediamine(HMD), and then bismaleimide(BMI)/epoxy(E-44)/CNTs ternary composites were prepared using modified CNTs as the reinforcement via a simple mixing and curing molding method. The results show that the surfaces of CNTs are grafted polymer with the thickness of 3 nm and the dispersity of surface grafted carbon nanotubes(SG-CNTs) in the resin composites can be improved. The prepared composites contain C-C, C-N, C=O and-COOH groups and can keep a smooth surface. In addition, the composites have the flexural strength of 152 MPa, the tensile strength of 73 MPa and the impact strength of 87 k J m~(-2),respectively, when the weight ratio of BMI to E-44 is 1:8 and the content of SG-CNTs is 2 wt%. However,the thermal stability of the composites with SG-CNTs is a little lower than that of the composites without SG-CNTs.     

Processing,characterization, and modeling of carbon nanotube-reinforced multiscale composites

Carbon fiber-reinforced epoxy composites modified with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were fabricated and characterized. High-energy sonication was used to disperse CNTs in the resin, followed by infiltration of fiber preform with the resin/CNT mixture. The effects of sonication time on the mechanical properties of “multiscale” composites, which contain reinforcements at varying scales, were studied. A low CNT loading of 0.3 wt% in resin had little influence on tensile properties, while it improved the flexural modulus, strength, and percent strain to break by 11.6%, 18.0%, and 11.4%, respectively, as compared to the control carbon fiber/epoxy composite. While sonication is an effective method to disperse CNTs in a resin, duration, intensity, and temperature need to be controlled to prevent damages imposed on CNTs and premature resin curing. A combination of Halpin–Tsai equations and woven fiber micromechanics was used in hierarchy to predict the mechanical properties of multiscale composites, and the discrepancies between the predicted and experimental values are explained.     

热酸处理对基于碳纳米管双电层电容器性能的提高

研究了对碳纳米管粉体和基于碳纳米管的双电层电容器电极板经热混合酸处理后的性能变化.结果显示:热酸处理可以有效的去除碳纳米管粉体中的非晶碳,提高碳纳米管分散性,引入若干种官能团;经热酸处理的碳纳米管电极板,比表面积提高,孔径分布得以优化,以及碳纳米管上官能团对电解质的吸引作用,使电容器的比电容得以显著提高.     

Pristine and amino functionalized carbon nanotubes reinforced glass fiber epoxy composites

Multi-phase composites have been studied by incorporating carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as a secondary reinforcement in an epoxy matrix which was then reinforced with glass fiber mat. Different types of CNTs e.g. amino functionalized carbon nanotubes (ACNT) and pristine carbon nanotubes (PCNT) were homogeneously dispersed in the epoxy matrix and two-ply laminates were fabricated using vacuum-assisted resin infusion molding technique. The issues related to CNT dispersion and interfacial bonding and its affect on the mechanical properties have been studied. An important finding of this study is that PCNT scores over ACNT in composites prepared under certain conditions. This is a very significant finding since PCNT is available at a much lower cost than ACNT.     

Effect of a multiscale reinforcement by carbon fiber surface treatment with graphene oxide/carbon nanotubes on the mechanical properties of reinforced carbon/carbon composites

An effective carbon fiber/graphene oxide/carbon nanotubes (CF-GO-CNTs) multiscale reinforcement was prepared by co-grafting carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene oxide (GO) onto the carbon fiber surface. The effects of surface modification on the properties of carbon fiber (CF) and the resulting composites was investigated systematically. The GO and CNTs were chemically grafted on the carbon fiber surface as a uniform coating, which could significantly increase the polar functional groups and surface energy of carbon fiber. In addition, the GO and CNTs co-grafted on the carbon fiber surface could improve interlaminar shear strength of the resulting composites by 48.12% and the interfacial shear strength of the resulting composites by 83.39%. The presence of GO and CNTs could significantly enhance both the area and wettability of fiber surface, leading to great increase in the mechanical properties of GO/CNTs/carbon fiber reinforced composites.     

碳纳米管/PLA复合材料制备及性能

采用溶液共混法制备纯化和酸化碳纳米管(CNTs)/PLA(聚乳酸)复合膜, 并对CNTs的分散性以及材料的结晶形态、 电性能和降解性能进行了研究。结果表明, 通过SEM观察到经过酸化处理的CNTs能较好地分散在PLA基体中; 在偏光显微镜下能观察到CNTs起到成核剂的作用, 明显细化了晶粒; 加入少量的酸化CNTs能够提高CNTs/PLA复合材料导电性, 体积电阻率下降了7个数量级; 同时, 酸化CNTs能够提高CNTs/PLA复合材料的降解性。     

Temperature dependence of electrical conductivity in double-wall and multi-wall carbon nanotube/polyester nanocomposites

The aim of this study is to investigate temperature dependence of electrical conductivity of carbon nanotube (CNT)/polyester nanocomposites from room temperature to 77 K using four-point probe test method. To produce nanocomposites, various types and amounts of CNTs (0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 wt.%) were dispersed via 3-roll mill technique within a specially formulized resin blend of thermoset polyesters. CNTs used in the study include multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNT) with and without amine functional groups (–NH₂). It was observed that the incorporation of carbon nanotubes into resin blend yields electrically percolating networks and electrical conductivity of the resulting nanocomposites increases with increasing amount of nanotubes. However, nanocomposites containing amino functionalized carbon nanotubes exhibit relatively lower electrical conductivity compared to those with non-functionalized carbon nanotubes. To get better interpretation of the mechanism leading to conductive network via CNTs with and without amine functional groups, the experimental results were fitted to fluctuation-induced tunneling through the barriers between the metallic regions model. It was found that the results are in good agreement with prediction of proposed model.     

The thermal conductivity of embedded nano-aluminum nitride-doped multi-walled carbon nanotubes in epoxy composites containing micro-aluminum nitride particles

Amino-functionalized nano-aluminum nitride (nano-AlN) particles were doped onto the surfaces of chlorinated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) to act as fillers in thermally conducting composites. These synthesized materials were embedded in epoxy resin. Then, the untreated micro-aluminum nitride (micro-AlN) particles were added to this resin, whereby the composites filled with nano-AlN-doped MWCNTs (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 wt%) and micro-AlN (25.2, 44.1, 57.4 vol%) were fabricated. As a result, the thermal diffusivity and conductivity of all composites continuously improved with increasing nano-AlN-doped MWCNT content and micro-AlN filler loading. The thermal conductivity reached its maximum, which was 31.27 times that of the epoxy alone, when 2 wt% nano-AlN-doped MWCNTs and 57.4 vol% micro-AlN were added to the epoxy resin. This result is due to the high aspect ratio of the MWCNTs and the surface polarity of the doped nano-AlN and micro-AlN particles, resulting in the improved thermal properties of the epoxy composite.     

Effect of carbon nanotubes on the mechanical properties and crystallization behavior of poly(ether ether ketone)

Pristine carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and noncovalently functionalized carbon nanotubes (f-CNTs) were used to prepare poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) composites (CNTs/PEEK and f-CNTs/PEEK) via melt blending. Noncovalently functionalized multiwalled nanotubes were synthesized using hydrogen-bonding interactions between sulfonic groups of sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) and carboxylic groups of nanotubes treated by acid (CNTs–COOH). The effects of these two kinds of nanotubes on the mechanical properties and crystallization behavior of PEEK were investigated. CNTs improved mechanical properties and promoted the crystallization rate of PEEK as a result of heterogeneous nucleation. Better enhancement of mechanical properties appeared in the f-CNTs/PEEK composites, which is ascribed to the good interaction between f-CNTs and PEEK. However, the strong interaction of f-CNTs and PEEK chains decreased the crystallization rate of PEEK for high content of f-CNTs.     

Carbon nanotubes dispersed polymer nanocomposites: mechanical,electrical, thermal properties and surface morphology

The various properties and surface morphology of the carbon nanotubes (CNTs) dispersed polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS) matrix were studied to determine their usefulness in various applications. The tensile strength, Young’s modulus and electrical breakdown strength of CNT/polymer composites were 0.35 MPa, 1.2 MPa and 8.1 kV, respectively. The thermal conductivity and dielectric constant for the material having 4.28 wt% CNT were 0.225 W m^?1 K^?1 and 2.329, respectively. The CNT/polymer composites are promising functional composites with improved mechanical and electrical properties. The scanning electron microscope analysis of surface morphology of PDMS/CNT composite showed that the rough surface texture on nanocomposite has large surface area with circular pores. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed the functional groups present in polymer nanocomposite.     

Fabrication and properties of CNTs/carbon fabric hybrid multiscale composites processed via resin transfer molding technique

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are effective fillers/reinforcements regarding improving the properties of polymer. In the present paper, carboxylic acid functionalized CNTs were used to modify epoxy with intent to develop a nanocomposite matrix for hybrid multiscale composites combining benefits of nanoscale reinforcement with well-established fibrous composites. CNTs were dispersed in epoxy by using high energy sonication. At low contents of CNTs, hybrid multiscale composites specimens were manufactured via resin transfer molding (RTM) process. The processibility of CNTs/epoxy systems was explored with respect to their viscosity. The dispersion quality and re-agglomeration behavior of CNTs in epoxy were characterized using optical microscope. A CNTs loading of 0.025 wt% significantly improved the glass transition temperatures (Tg) of the hybrid multiscale composites. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to examine the fracture surface of the failed specimens. It is demonstrated that the addition of small amount of CNTs (0.025 wt%) to epoxy for the fabrication of multiscale carbon fabric composites via RTM route effectively improves the matrix-dominated properties of polymer based composites. Hybridization efficiency in carbon fiber reinforced composites using CNTs is found to be highly dependent on the changes in the dispersion state of CNTs in epoxy.     

碳纳米管改性泡沫镍/环氧树脂复合材料阻尼性能

采用一种新型简易的化学气相沉积法(CVD)直接在泡沫镍表面均匀地沉积生长碳纳米管(CNTs),然后通过真空导入模塑成型工艺(VIMP)将选定的环氧树脂体系填入表面负载CNTs的泡沫镍孔洞,制备CNTs-泡沫镍/环氧树脂复合材料。利用FE-SEM、TEM和Raman对在不同反应温度条件下泡沫镍表面形貌和所生成CNTs的形貌、结构及石墨化程度进行了表征,并采用动态机械分析仪(DMA)研究了CNTs对泡沫镍/环氧树脂复合材料阻尼性能的影响。结果表明:当反应温度为680℃时,在泡沫镍表面可获得较好的CNTs沉积效果,且所生成的CNTs石墨化程度和纯度较高且直径尺寸较为均匀。同时所制备的CNTs-泡沫镍/环氧树脂复合材料比泡沫镍/环氧树脂复合材料,最大损耗因子tanδ_(max)从0.69提高到0.78,玻璃化转变温度Tg从60℃偏移到68℃,有效阻尼温域ΔT从39℃扩宽到44℃,整体阻尼性能提高了18.9%。     

氨基化碳纳米管对交联环氧树脂玻璃化转变温度的影响机制

采用动态力学性能分析和分子动力学模拟相结合的方法研究了氨基化碳纳米管/环氧树脂复合材料的玻璃化转变温度(T_g),并重点分析了界面在影响T_g变化中的作用。实验发现,与纯环氧树脂相比,未改性碳纳米管对环氧树脂的T_g无明显影响,而氨基化碳纳米管使环氧树脂的T_g升高。分子模拟结果显示,在氨基化碳纳米管/环氧树脂复合材料中,当氨基化碳纳米管与环氧树脂基体有共价键连接,碳纳米管与树脂基体间界面结合强,复合材料的T_g显著升高。研究结果表明,在环氧树脂中添加氨基化碳纳米管后,由于碳纳米管上的氨基官能团能参与环氧树脂的交联反应,形成共价键,界面结合强,复合材料的T_g升高。复合材料界面状态不同,T_g的变化情况不同,选择能形成强结合界面的碳纳米管等增强材料可以实现提高树脂基体T_g的目的。     

Carbon and glass hierarchical fibers: Influence of carbon nanotubes on tensile,flexural and impact properties of short fiber reinforced composites

Dense carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were grown uniformly on the surface of carbon fibers and glass fibers to create hierarchical fibers by use of floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition. Morphologies of the CNTs were investigated using scanning electronic microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). Larger diameter dimension and distinct growing mechanism of nanotubes on glass fiber were revealed. Short carbon and glass fiber reinforced polypropylene composites were fabricated using the hierarchical fibers and compared with composites made using neat fibers. Tensile, flexural and impact properties of the composites were measured, which showed evident enhancement in all mechanical properties compared to neat short fiber composites. SEM micrographs of composite fracture surface demonstrated improved adhesion between CNT-coated fiber and the matrix. The enhanced mechanical properties of short fiber composites was attributed to the synergistic effects of CNTs in improving fiber–matrix interfacial properties as well as the CNTs acting as supplemental reinforcement in short fiber-composites.     

Interface enhancement of glass fiber reinforced vinyl ester composites with flame-synthesized carbon nanotubes and its enhancing mechanism

Interface enhancement with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) provides a promising approach for improving shock strength and toughness of glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) composites. The effects of incorporating flame-synthesized CNTs (F-CNTs) into GFRP were studied, including on hand lay-up preparation, microstructural characterization, mechanical properties, fracture morphologies, and theoretical calculation. The experimental results showed that: (1) the impact strength of the GFRP modified by F-CNTs increased by more than 15% over that of the GFRP modified by CNTs from chemical vapor deposition; and (2) with the F-CNT enhancement, no interfacial debonding was observed at the interface between the fiber and resin matrix on the GFRP fracture surface, which indicated strong adhesive strength between them. The theoretical calculation revealed that the intrinsic characteristics of the F-CNTs, including lower crystallinity with a large number of defects and chemical functional groups on the surface, promoted their surface activity and dispersibility at the interface, which improved the interfacial bond strength of GFRP.     

New Fabrication and Mechanical Properties of Styrene-Butadiene Rubber/Carbon Nanotubes Nanocomposite

A novel technology to prepare styrene-butadiene rubber(SBR)/carbon nanotubes(CNTs) composites was developed by combining a spray drying method and a subsequent mechanical mixing process.The cross-linking degrees of the vulcanized composites increased gradually with the additive CNTs contents.By comparing with those of the pure SBR composites,the mechanical properties such as tensile strength,tear strength and hardness of the composites filled with CNTs at certain contents were dramatically improved almost b...     

高能球磨法制备高性能均一分散CNTs/Al5083复合材料

采用卧式高能球磨法制备0%~2%CNTs/Al5083(质量分数)复合材料,研究球磨时间和CNTs含量对复合材料性能的影响。采用扫描电镜(SEM)和透射电镜(TEM)对复合材料的形貌进行表征,测试复合材料的抗拉强度及硬度。结果表明:当球磨时间为1.5h时,CNTs可均匀分散在Al5083基体中;CNTs质量分数为1.5%时,CNTs/Al5083界面结合力最好,复合材料的抗拉强度和硬度分别为188.8MPa和136HV,比未加CNTs的Al5083合金基体分别提高了32.2%和36%。     

New alignment procedure of magnetite–CNT hybrid nanofillers on epoxy bulk resin with permanent magnets

The main properties of epoxy composites reinforced with aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been studied. The alignment was carried out in a specific designed device applying a weak magnetic field (0.3 T) with permanent magnets. CNTs were modified with magnetite nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄) functionalized, in a one-stage-process which does not require use of strong acids or aggressive treatments which could affect the structural integrity of CNTs. The study by transmission electron microscopy confirmed that the Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles were closely bonded over CNT surfaces. The thermo-mechanical and tensile properties of composites measured were higher than neat epoxy resin and were similar for both composites: reinforced with neat CNTs and magnetite–CNT hybrid nanofillers. The electrical behaviour indicates a high anisotropy for aligned composites, showing an increase of one order of magnitude for the electrical conductivity in the direction of aligned nanotubes.     

In situ polymerized nanocomposites: Polystyrene/CNT and Poly(methyl methacrylate)/CNT composites

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were incorporated into polystyrene (PS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) matrices via in situ emulsion and emulsion/suspension polymerization methods. The polymerizations were carried out using various initiators, surfactants, and carbon nanotubes to determine their influence on polymerization and on the properties of the composites. The loading of CNTs in the composites varied from 0 to 15 wt.%, depending on the CNTs used. Morphology and dispersion of the CNTs were analyzed by transmission and scanning electron microscopy techniques. The dispersion of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) in the composites was excellent, even at high CNT loading. The mechanical properties, and electrical and thermal conductivities, of the composites were also analyzed. Both electrical and thermal conductivities were improved.     

The impact of fluorinated MWCNT additives on the enhanced dynamic mechanical properties of e-beam-cured epoxy

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes were embedded into e-beam-cured epoxy resin to improve the mechanical properties of epoxy resin. The surfaces of these carbon nanotubes were modified using a fluorination treatment to improve their dispersion and adhesion in epoxy resin. The dynamic mechanical properties of epoxy/carbon nanotube composites were investigated at various heating rates and frequencies. As an effect of fluorination treatment, the semi-ionic bond of C–F on the surface of multi-walled carbon nanotubes played an important role in the improved dispersion and adhesion of carbon nanotubes into the epoxy resin. The storage modulus and loss modulus of the composites increased with higher applied frequency. The activation energy of the composites was increased by the effects of a higher heating rate due to the slow heat transfer in the epoxy/carbon nanotube composites. Eventually, the dynamic mechanical properties of the investigated epoxy were significantly improved by the carbon nanotubes dispersed therein via the fluorination treatment.