Preparation of vertically aligned carbon nanotube arrays grown onto carbon fiber fabric and evaluating its wettability on effect of composite

• Published in: Applied surface science Vol. 258; no. 3; pp. 1069 - 1076
• Main Authors: An, Feng, Lu, Chunxiang, Guo, Jinhai, He, Shuqing, Lu, Huibin, Yang, Yu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 15.11.2011; Elsevier
• Subjects: Arrays; Carbon; Carbon fiber; Carbon fibers; Carbon nanotube; Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Contact angle; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Exact sciences and technology; Fabrics; Fibers; Interfacial shear strength; Nanomaterials; Nanostructure; Physics; Surface energy; Wettability; Carbon nanotube; Interfacial shear strength; Wettability; Surface energy; Carbon fiber; Carbon fibers; Composite materials; Preparation; Carbon nanotubes; Shear strength; Arrays
• ISSN: 0169-4332; 1873-5584
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2011.09.003

► Aligned carbon nanotubes were uniformly grown onto the carbon fiber fabric. ► The carbon nanotube-grafted carbon fiber shows a great hydrophobicity over 145. ► No obvious mechanical properties of carbon fiber were observed after CNT growth. ► A nearly 110% increase of interfacial shear strength has been identified. Vertically aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays have been grown onto the carbon fiber fabric using a catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CCVD) method. The as-synthesized CNT arrays are about 20μm in height, and the nanotube has a mean inner and outer diameter of 2.6nm, 5.5nm, respectively. The CNT-grafted carbon fabric shows a hydrophobic property with a contact angle over 145°, and the single CNT-grafted carbon fiber shows a sharp increase of dynamic contact angle in de-ionized water from original 71.70° to about 103°, but a little increase does in diiodomethane or E-51 epoxy resin. However, the total surface energy of carbon nanotube-grafted carbon fiber is almost as same as that of as-received carbon fiber. After CNTs growth, single fiber tensile tests indicated a slight tensile strength degradation within 10% for all different lengths of fibers, while the fiber modulus has not been significantly damaged. Compared with the as-received carbon fibers, a nearly 110% increase of interfacial shear strength (IFSS) from 65 to 135MPa has been identified by single fiber pull-out tests for the micro-droplet composite, which is reinforced by as-received carbon fiber or CNT-grafted carbon fiber.