Carbon fiber-carbon nanotube multiscale composites - the key to multifunctionality

Multifunctional materials are constantly generating significant interest, while they can significantly reduce the device design complexity, decrease the ultimate mass of the product, improve the energy efficiency, etc. A promising candidate for such a material is a polymer reinforced with microscale carbon fiber (CF) grafted with nanoscale carbon nanotubes (CNTs), referred to as multiscale composite. CNTs exhibit outstanding mechanical properties as well as heat and electrical conductivity, opening a range of possible functional extensions. Analogous materials are currently investigated by numerous research groups for damage sensing, enhanced electromagnetic shielding, energy storage and more. Our work is focused on a novel approach to grow dense and high quality CNTs directly on the CF surface employing chemical vapor deposition technique. The previously conducted mechanical tests have revealed that the strength of CF decreases significantly in the process. We are currently focused on overcoming this detrimental effect by exploration of alternative growth catalyst configurations using iron and nickel nanoparticles pre-delivered on the CF surface as well as the delivery of iron catalyst from the gas phase during the synthesis. We aim to obtain the material of enhanced mechanical properties as compared to the classical CF-based composite, opening the path to the emergence its extra functionalities.

DDC Class

620: Ingenieurwissenschaften

More Funding Information

We thank especially the Swiss Nanoscience Institute for the funding of the PhD program which this study is a part of (SNI PhD project P1402).

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Carbon fiber-carbon nanotube multiscale composites - the key to multifunctionality