CARBON NANOTUBE ENHANCED COMPOSITE MATERIALS

摘要

Non covalent functionalization by π stacking was accomplished by treating multi walled carbonnanotubes (MWNTs) through the use of Kentera~(TM), a conjugate rigid rod polymer. Thefunctionalized MWNTs were then introduced into the epoxy resins through a combination ofshear and elongation forces. The resulting epoxy resin (containing MWNTs) was thenimpregnated with carbon fiber under hot-melt conditions to produce epoxy pre-preg. Compositeswere fabricated from both epoxy resin and prepreg by hand lay ups and cured in autoclave.Mechanical testing showed about 50% and 25% improvements in flexural strength and modulusrespectively. Furthermore, SEM, DMA, and mechanical test data of the composites suggestedformation of strong interfacial bonding between the MWNTs, epoxy matrix and carbon fiber.