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.     

Greatly enhanced cryogenic mechanical properties of short carbon fiber/polyethersulfone composites by graphene oxide coating

In order to employ polyethersulfone (PES) in cryogenic engineering field, its cryogenic mechanical performance should be examined and should also be improved to meet the high requirement for cryogenic engineering application. In this work, pure PES, graphene oxide (GO)/PES, short carbon fiber (SCF)/PES, GO/SCF/PES and GO-coated SCF/PES composites are prepared using the extrusion compounding and injection molding techniques. The tensile and flexural properties of these composites are systematically investigated at a typical cryogenic temperature (77 K). It is shown that the cryogenic mechanical properties are enhanced by the addition of GO, SCFs and coated-SCFs. In particular, the GO-coated SCF/PES composites display the greatly enhanced cryogenic mechanical properties with the highest values compared to other PES composites. In addition, it is exhibited that the cryogenic mechanical properties at 77 K of PES and its composites are far higher than those at room temperature (RT).     

Nylon-6/Graphene composites modified through polymeric modification of graphene

The covalent functionalization of graphene oxide (GO) with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) via ester linkages (GO-es-PVA) as well as the characterization of modified graphene based Nylon-6 (PA6) composite prepared by solution mixing techniques was examined. The anchoring of PVA chains on GO sheets was confirmed by XPS and FTIR measurements. The resulting functionalized sample became soluble in formic acid, allowing solution-phase processing for preparation of PA6/GO composites. Answering to the efficient polymer-chain grafting, a homogeneously dispersion of GO sheets in PA6 matrix and a dramatic improvement of interface adhesion between nanosheets and matrix were observed in PA6/GO-es-PVA composites by SEM and TEM. The depressed crystallization of PA6 chains in PA6/GO-es-PVA composites was investigated by their DSC and XRD results.     

氧化石墨烯纳米片/环氧树脂复合材料的制备与性能

氧化石墨烯(GO)是石墨烯重要的衍生物之一,通过氧化和超声波分散制备了GO纳米片/环氧树脂复合材料。采用XRD、拉曼光谱、FTIR和TEM表征了GO纳米片的结构与形貌,研究了GO纳米片用量对GO纳米片/环氧树脂复合材料热稳定性、力学性能及介电性能的影响。结果表明:GO纳米片的加入提高了GO纳米片/环氧树脂复合材料失热稳定性;随着GO纳米片填充量的增加,GO纳米片/环氧树脂复合材料的冲击强度和抗弯性能先提高后降低,其介电常数和介电损耗则先减小后增加。GO纳米片填充量为0.3wt%的GO纳米片/环氧树脂复合材料的失重5%时的热分解温度由纯环氧树脂的400.2℃提高到424.5℃,而冲击强度和弯曲强度分别在GO纳米片填充量为0.2wt%和0.3wt%时达到最大,冲击强度由纯环氧树脂的10.5kJ/m2提高到19.7kJ/m2,弯曲强度由80.5 MPa提高到104.0 MPa。     

Reinforcing polyamide 1212 with graphene oxide via a two-step melt compounding process

In this study, graphene oxide (GO) was synthesized from graphite powders via Hummers’ method. Polyamide 1212 (PA1212)/GO composites were prepared via a two-step melt compounding process. First, GO concentrates were prepared via solution coagulation. In this method, a GO solution was mixed with an ethanol-soluble polyamide solution. The resulting product was melt-compounded with a PA1212 matrix. This method enabled GO nanosheets to be well-dispersed in a PA1212 matrix. GO, which functioned as a nucleation template, exhibited heterogeneous nucleation effect in the PA1212 matrix because of its large specific surface area. The mechanical properties of the oriented PA1212/GO composites improved efficiently compared with those of pure PA1212. Crystal orientation degree and crystallinity in the composites increased slightly when GO was added after drawing. The composites’ reinforcing effect was mainly attributed to GO nanosheet alignment. These nanonsheets functioned as the nuclei to reinforce the entire oriented crystals.     

Using silane-functionalized graphene oxides for enhancing the interfacial bonding strength of carbon/epoxy composites

Silane-functionalized graphene oxides (sGOs) were fabricated with four different self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) to reinforce an epoxy adhesive, with the aim of improving the bonding strength of carbon/epoxy composites. The oxygen-containing groups on the surface of graphene oxide (GO) were converted by the SAMs to amine, epoxy, or alkyl groups. The successful reaction between the silane molecules of the SAMs and functional groups of GO was evidenced by the results of different characterization methods such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. It was found that the average thickness of the sGO flakes was higher than that of GO flakes. The bonding strength of a carbon fiber/epoxy composite, tested with a single lap joint bonded with an epoxy adhesive, was increased by 53% after the addition of a sGO that contained amine groups. These results show that sGOs, especially those containing amine functional groups, can strengthen the interfacial bonding between the carbon fibers and epoxy adhesive.     

Interfacial resistive heating and mechanical properties of graphene oxide assisted CuO nanoparticles in woven carbon fiber/polyester composite

Woven carbon fiber (WCF)-based polyester composites were developed via a vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) process in combination with CuO and graphene oxide (GO). The interlaminar resistive heating behavior and allied mechanical properties of the composites were investigated. The CuO nanoparticles were synthesized from copper nitrate and hexamethylenetetramine precursors using traditional microwave green synthesis, while the GO was synthesized by slight modification of Hummer’s method. The nanoparticle shapes and sizes were assessed via scanning electron microscopy, and the nanoparticle distributions in the composites and their chemical interactions were examined using X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. It was found that the composite strengths and moduli were enhanced by up to 61.2% and 57.5%, whereas the interfacial shear strength was enhanced by 89.9%. A composite filled with 120-mM CuO and 1.2-phr GO exhibited maximum performance as regards mechanical and resistive heating. Impact resistance measurements were conducted at 3-J penetration energy, and a 154.2% increase in nanofiller content was achieved. The addition of CuO nanoparticles increased the interlaminar resistive heating of the composite and, at 120-mM concentration, a 78.9% increment in the average temperature was attained. The presence of nanoparticles in the interlaminar region also decelerated the cooling process.     

Enhanced mechanical properties of multiscale carbon fiber/epoxy composites by fiber surface treatment with graphene oxide/polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane

Graphene oxide (GO) and polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) grafted carbon fiber (CF) was demonstrated to reinforce the mechanical properties of fiber composites. Such a fiber composite was prepared by grafting POSS onto the CF surface using GO as the linkage. The presence of GO linkage and POSS could significantly enhance both the area and wettability of fiber surface, leading to an increase in the interfacial strength between fibers and resin. Compared with the desized CF composites, the grafted CF composites fabricated by compression molding method exhibited 53.05% enhancement in the interlaminar shear strength. The changed surface morphology, surface composition and surface energy were supposed to be related with the interfacial performance of unidirectional composites, as revealed by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscope, dynamic contact angle test and X-ray photoelectron microscopy charaterizations.     

Enhanced thermal resistance of phenolic resin composites at low loading of graphene oxide

By incorporating graphene oxide (GO) into phenolic resin (PR), GO/PR composites were prepared, and the effects of the content and reduction degree of GO on thermal resistance of GO/PR composites were studied. The peak degradation temperature of the PR was increased by about 14 °C with GO which was heat treated. The char yield of GO/PR composite at a GO weight fraction of 0.5% was about 11% greater than that of PR. The interactions such as covalent bonds and π–π stacking between GO and PR were regarded as the main reason for the enhancement. Located at the GO–PR interface, GO effectively anchored and structured PR molecular near the surfaces of GO sheets, and thus facilitated the formation of char. The superiority of GO/PR composites over PR in terms of thermal properties enhancement should also be related to the promoting graphitization by the addition of GO.     

Tribological performance of carbon nanotube–graphene oxide hybrid/epoxy composites

An investigation is conducted on the effect of the hybrid of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets on the tribological performance of epoxy composites at low GO weight fractions of 0.05–0.5 phr. The MWCNT amount is kept constant at 0.5 phr, which is typical for CNT/epoxy composites with enhanced mechanical properties. Friction and wear tests against smooth steel show that the introduction of 0.5 phr MWCNTs into the epoxy matrix increases the friction coefficient and decreases the specific wear rate. When testing the tribological performance of MWCNT/GO hybrids, it is shown that at a high GO amount of 0.5 phr, the friction coefficient is decreased below that of the neat matrix whereas the wear rate is increased above that of the neat matrix. At an optimal hybrid formulation, i.e., 0.5 phr MWCNTs and 0.1 phr GO, a further increase in the friction coefficient and a further reduction in the specific wear rate are observed. The specific wear rate is reduced by about 40% down to a factor of 11 relative to the neat epoxy when the GO content is 0.1 phr.     

Reinforcing potential of micro- and nano-sized fibers in the starch-based biocomposites

Starch-based biocomposites reinforced with jute (micro-sized fiber) and bacterial cellulose (BC) (nano-sized fiber) were prepared by film casting. Reinforcement in the composites is essentially influenced by fiber nature, and amount of loading. The optimum amount of fiber loading for jute and bacterial cellulose in each composite system are 60 wt% and 50 wt% (of starch weight), respectively. Mechanical properties are largely improved due to the strong hydrogen interaction between the starch matrix and cellulose fiber together with good fiber dispersion and impregnation in these composites revealed by SEM. The composites reinforced with 40 wt% or higher bacterial cellulose contents have markedly superior mechanical properties than those reinforced with jute. Young’s modulus and tensile strength of the optimum 50 wt% bacterial cellulose reinforced composite averaged 2.6 GPa and 58 MPa, respectively. These values are 106-fold and 20-fold more than the pure starch/glycerol film. DMTA revealed that the presence of bacterial cellulose (with optimum loading) significantly enhanced the storage modulus and glass transition temperature of the composite, with a 35 °C increment. Thermal degradation of the bacterial cellulose component occurred at higher temperatures implying improved thermal stability. The composites reinforced with bacterial cellulose also had much better water resistance than those associated with jute. In addition, even at high fiber loading, the composites reinforced by bacterial cellulose clearly retain an exceptional level of optical transparency owing to the effect of the nano-sized fibers and also good interfacial bonding between the matrix and bacterial cellulose.     

Highly conductive graphene oxide/polyaniline hybrid polymer nanocomposites with simultaneously improved mechanical properties

Graphene oxide (GO) was added to a polymer composites system consisting of surfactant-wrapped/doped polyaniline (PANI) and divinylbenzene (DVB). The nanocomposites were fabricated by a simple blending, ultrasonic dispersion and curing process. The new composites show higher conductivity (0.02–9.8 S/cm) than the other reported polymer system filled with PANI (10⁻⁹–10⁻¹ S/cm). With only 0.45 wt% loading of GO, at least 29% enhancement in electric conductivity and 29.8% increase in bending modulus of the composites were gained. Besides, thermal stability of the composites was also improved. UV–Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that addition of GO improves the dispersion of PANI in the polymer composite, which is the key to realize high conductivity.     

Reinforcing graphene oxide/cement composite with NH<Subscript>2</Subscript> functionalizing group

In this study, pure and NH₂-functionalized graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets have been added to the cement mortar with different weight percents (0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20 and 0.25 wt%). In addition, the effects of functionalizing GO on the microstructure and mechanical properties (flexural/compressive strengths) of cement composite have been investigated for the first time. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed that GO filled the pores and well dispersed in concrete matrix, whereas exceeding GO additive from 0.10 wt% caused the formation of agglomerates and microcracks. In addition, mercury intrusion porosimetry confirmed the significant effects of GO and functionalizing groups on filling the pores. NH₂-functionalizing helped to improve the cohesion between GO nanosheets and cement composite. Compressive strengths increased from 39 MPa for the sample without GO to 54.23 MPa for the cement composites containing 0.10 wt% of NH₂-functionalized GO. Moreover, the flexural strength increased to 23.4 and 38.4% by compositing the cement paste with 0.10 wt% of pure and NH₂-functionalized GO, compared to the sample without GO, respectively. It was shown that functionalizing considerably enhanced the mechanical properties of GO/cement composite due to the interfacial strength between calcium silicate hydrates (C-S-H) gel and functionalized GO nanosheets as observed in SEM images. The morphological results were in good agreement with the trend obtained in mechanical properties of GO/cement composites.     

In situ thermal reduction of graphene oxide for high electrical conductivity and low percolation threshold in polyamide 6 nanocomposites

Electrically conductive and thermally stable polyamide 6 (PA 6) nanocomposites were prepared through one-step in situ polymerization of ε-caprolactam monomer in the presence of electrically insulating and thermally unstable graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets. These nanocomposites show a low percolation threshold of ∼0.41 vol.% and high electrical conductivity of ∼0.028 S/m with only ∼1.64 vol.% of GO. Thermogravimetric analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results of GO before and after thermal treatment at the polymerization temperature indicate that GO was reduced in situ during the polymerization process. X-ray diffraction patterns and scanning electron microscopy observation confirm the exfoliation of the reduced graphene oxide (RGO) in the PA 6 matrix. The low percolation threshold and high electrical conductivity are attributed to the large aspect ratio, high specific surface area and uniform dispersion of the RGO nanosheets in the matrix. In addition, although GO has a poor thermal stability, its PA 6 nanocomposite is thermally stable with a satisfactory thermal stability similar to those of neat PA 6 and PA 6/graphene nanocomposite. Such a one-step in situ polymerization and thermal reduction method shows significant potential for the mass production of electrically conductive polymer/RGO nanocomposites.     

纳米纤维组织工程支架及其纳米效应研究进展

综述了纳米纤维组织工程支架的最新研究进展,评述了其制备技术、特点及其存在的纳米效应.指出天然细胞外基质为三维纳米纤维结构,其纤维连续,直径为纳米级,包含比例确定的纳米与微米空间,且与细胞存在纳米水平的相互作用;然而,目前的人工纤维支架,其纤维直径多为微米或数百纳米,或者缺乏纳米空间.采用生物纳米技术获得的细菌纤维素纳米纤维,其直径小于10 nm,自身呈三维网状结构,富含纳米空间,是构建新一代纳米组织工程支架的理想材料.     

Effects of chitosan as biopolymer coupling agent on the thermal and rheological properties of polyvinyl chloride/wood flour composites

Chitosan (CS) was opted as a novel biopolymer coupling agent for wood flour polyvinyl chloride composites (WF/PVC) to improve interfacial adhesion. This study mainly aimed at investigating the effects after adding CS of different addition amounts and particle sizes on the thermal and rheological properties of WF/PVC composites by the analyses of vicat softening temperature test (VST), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry (TGA) and torque rheometry. The results indicated that an optimum addition amount (30 phr) with the particle size (180–220 mesh) could elevate heat resistance capacity, glass transition temperature of composites as well as thermal stability at the early stage of degradation more effectively. In the aspect of rheological characteristics, longer fusion time, lower fusion torque and higher fusion temperature were showed as the CS addition amount increased and the particle size declined. In order to obtain sufficient compaction and ensure proper blending to compounds during extrusion, the higher pressure needed to be supplied when the addition amount of CS exceeded 20 phr.     

Synthesis,characterization and in vitro studies of polysulfone/graphene oxide composite membranes

The aim of the study was the synthesis of polysulfone (PS)/graphene oxide (GO) composite membranes by phase inversion method as well as their structural, morphological, thermal and mechanical investigation. The performance of composite membranes in terms of distilled water and ethanol fluxes was investigated. The biological activity of mouse mesenchymal stem cells in contact with the new materials was measured. The successful incorporation of GO nanosheets within the PS matrix was confirmed by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Tensile tests indicated a key contribution of GO to the improvement of mechanical performances of PS. Ethanol and water fluxes decrease was remarked with GO addition and was assigned to the stabilization of composite membrane structure. Composite membranes cytotoxicity, cell viability and proliferation potential tests indicated excellent biocompatibility, enhancing cell proliferation and grouping for higher amount of GO within PS matrix.     

Functional shape memory composite nanofibers with graphene oxide filler

In the present study, we prepared a series of graphene oxide (GO) filled shape memory polyurethane (SMPU) nanofibers and systematically investigated the morphological, thermal and mechanical properties, surface wettability, and the shape memory effect (SME) followed by the proposed programming model. The results show that GO can be well dispersed within the SMPU matrix, and the introduction of GO significantly improves the mechanical strength, surface wettability, and thermal stability of the SMPU. Compared with pristine SMPU nanofibrous mats, the prepared SMPU/GO nanofibrous mats have better SME and lower thermal shrinkage. When the loading amount of GO increased to 4.0 wt%, the thermal shrinkage ratio (R_ts) of composite nanofibrous mats could be as low as 4.7 ± 0.3%, while the average fixation ratio (R_f) and recovery ratio (R_r) could be as high as 92.1% and 96.5%, respectively. The study indicates that GO is a desirable reinforcing filler for preparing shape memory nanofibers with improved properties.     

Effect of fiber surface modification on water absorption and hydrothermal aging behaviors of GF/pCBT composites

Water absorption and aging behaviors of fiber reinforced polymerized poly (cyclic butylene terephthalate) (GF/pCBT) composites are investigated. We coated nano-silica on glass fiber surface by physical vapor deposition (PVD) method. Subsequently, we immersed pCBT composites reinforced with nano-treated/untreated fibers in 25 °C and 60 °C distilled water until their saturated moisture. We also exposed some specimens in various hydrothermal aging environments. We tested the mechanical performance of these test specimens and found that the mechanical performance of both pCBT cast and GF/pCBT composites reduces obviously after water absorption and hydrothermal aging. However, nano-silica modified fiber reinforced composites have higher remaining strength than GF/pCBT. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) is used to study the microscopic phase and nanoparticle modified mechanism, and better interface characteristic between fibers and matrix is observed.     

Reduced graphene oxide deposited carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites for electromagnetic interference shielding

Reduced graphene oxide deposited carbon fiber (rGO-CF) was prepared by introducing GO onto CF surface through electrophoretic deposition method, following by reducing the GO sheets on CF with NaBH₄ solution. The rGO-CF was found to be more effective than CF to improve the electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding property of unsaturated polyester (UP) based composites. With 0.75% mass fraction of rGO-CF, the shielding effectiveness of the composite reached 37.8 dB at the frequency range of 8.2–12.4 GHz (x-band), which had 16.3% increase than that of CF/UP composite (32.5 dB) in the same fiber mass fraction. The results suggest that rGO-CF is a good candidate for the use as a light-weight EMI shielding material.