• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.86-91
• /
• 2021

In order to save the energy in vehicles using renewable energy, it is necessary to reduce the weight of parts with polymer matrix composites. Carbon nanotube (CNT) is the nano-scale reinforcement used to increase the interlaminar strength of fiber reinforced composites or enhance the fracture toughness of polymer. However, since the degree of improvement in mechanical properties varies according to the various experimental conditions such as shape of reinforcement, types of matrix and dispersion of reinforcement, research to find the optimal conditions is essentially needed. In this study, CNT/epoxy composites with different CNT concentration were fabricated under the same conditions, and the optimal CNT content (2 wt%) was found through Mode 1 fracture toughness test. Furthermore, through optical microscopy, it was confirmed that the fracture toughness was rather decreased due to the CNT aggregation when the CNT content exceeded 2 wt%.

• Composites Research
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.147-154
• /
• 2013

Nanocarbons such as carbon nanotubes (CNT) and graphene are considered to be ideal fillers for polymer composites, because of their outstanding mechanical properties and high length-to-diameter ratio. There has been much effort to realize the implementation of their full potential, but a large number of unsolved problems still must be challenged, for example, effective processing for fabrication. This review deals with the progress that has already been made in the area of nanocarbon polymer composites using CNT and graphene. Mechanical reinforcement of various nanocarbon polymer composites is analyzed and compared, and future perspectives in research and development that need to be done are discussed.

• Proceeding of EDISON Challenge
• /
• 2015.03a
• /
• pp.304-307
• /
• 2015

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been widely accepted and used as the enhancer for polymer nano-composites due to their remarkable mechanical properties. Understandably, the CNT fiber-polymer matrix interface plays a major role in determining the properties of the CNT-polymer nano-composites. Here, using the LCAODFT Lab tool available on the EDISON Nano-Physics site, we performed first-principles density-functional theory calculations to determine the atomic configurations and binding energies of the CNTs in contact with polymers. For the polymer matrixes, we chose poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN), which is one of the most well-known polymer matrixes for the carbon nanofiber nanocomposites. Different chiralities and diameters of pristine CNTs were considered, and several PAN-CNT configurations were prepared based on the atomistic positions and directions of cyano group in PAN. The most favorable configuration of PAN was obtained when the PAN bound parallel to the surface of CNT. Our finding indicates the binding configurations are determined by the direction of the cyano group dominantly rather than the atomistic position of PAN, or the symmetry of CNTs. The result of increasing the length of CNT diameter suggests that PAN is inclinable to align evenly on the surface of relatively large size of CNT with the configuration parallel to the surface. These results obtained in this study will provide the starting point for the design of improved PAN-CNT composites for the next-generation ultra-strong and ultra-light carbon nanofibers.

• Carbon letters
• /
• v.12 no.3
• /
• pp.177-179
• /
• 2011

The use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as a reinforcing material in a polymer matrix has increased in various industries. In this study, the flexural behavior of CNT-modified epoxy/basalt (CNT/epoxy/basalt) composites is investigated. The effects of CNT modification with silane on the flexural properties of CNT/epoxy/basalt composites were also examined. Flexural tests were performed using epoxy/basalt, oxidized CNT/epoxy/basalt, and silanized CNT/epoxy/basalt multi-scale composites. After the flexural tests, the fracture surfaces of the specimens were examined via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to investigate the fracture mechanisms of the CNT/epoxy/basalt multi-scale composites with respect to the CNT modification process. The flexural properties of the epoxy/basalt composites were improved by the addition of CNTs. The flexural modulus and strength of the silane-treated CNT/epoxy/basalt multi-scale composites increased by approximately 54% and 34%, respectively, compared to those of epoxy/basalt composites. A SEM examination of the fracture surfaces revealed that the improvement in the flexural properties of the silane-treated CNT/epoxy/basalt multi-scale composites could be attributed to the improved dispersion of the CNTs in the epoxy.

• Elastomers and Composites
• /
• v.45 no.2
• /
• pp.80-86
• /
• 2010

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) exhibit excellent mechanical, electrical, and magnetic properties as well as nanometer scale diameter and high aspect ratio, which make them an ideal reinforcing agent for high strength polymer composites. The functionalized CNTs are believed to be very promising in the fields such as preparation of functional and composite materials. CNT-Polymer composites are expected to have good processability characteristics of the polymer and excellent functional properties of the CNTs. However, since CNTs usually form stabilized bundles due to Van der Waals interactions, are extremely difficult to disperse and align in a polymer matrix. The biggest issues in the preparation of CNT-reinforced composites reside in efficient dispersion of CNTs into a polymer matrix, and the alignment and control of the CNTs in the matrix. There are several methods for the dispersion of nanotubes in the polymer matrix such as solution mixing, bulk mixing, melt mixing, in-situ polymerization and chemical functionalization of the carbon nanotubes, etc. These methods and preparation of high performance CNT-polymer composites are described in this review.

• Composites Research
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.123-128
• /
• 2021

This paper dealt with multi-scale natural frequency characteristics of wavy CNT (carbon nanotube) reinforced composites by applying the Mori-Tanaka method, rule of mixture, and Halpin-Tsai equation. By compelling benefit of an ad-hoc Eshelby tensor, the load-transfer characteristics of CNT with a waviness implanted in the polymer matrix was determined. The numerical results obtained are in good agreement with those reported by other investigators. Furthermore, the new results reported in this paper show the interactions between CNT weight, waviness ratios and layup sequences of laminated composites. Key observation points are discussed and significant considerations are given in practical designing of CNT reinforced composites.

• Composites Research
• /
• v.29 no.5
• /
• pp.269-275
• /
• 2016

Multiscale hybrid composites, which consist of polymeric resins, microscale fibers and nanoscale reinforcements, have drawn significant attention in the field of advanced, high-performance materials. Despite their advantages, multiscale hybrid composites show challenges associated with nanomaterial dispersion, viscosity, interfacial bonding and load transfer, and orientation control. In this paper, carbon nanotube(CNT)/carbon fiber(CF)/polycarbonate(PC) multiscale hybrid composite were fabricated by a solution process to overcome the difficulties associated with controlling the melt viscosity of thermoplastic resins. The dependence of CNT loading was studied by varying the method to add CNTs, i.e., impregnation of CF with CNT/PC/solvent solution and impregnation of CNT-coated CF with PC/solvent solution. In addition, hybrid composites were fabricated through surfactant-aided CNT dispersion followed by vacuum filtration. The morphologies of the surfaces of hybrid composites, as analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, revealed the quality of PC impregnation depends on the processing method. Dynamic mechanical analysis was performed to evaluate their mechanical performance. It was analyzed that if the position of the value of tan ${\delta}$ is closer to the ideal line, the adhesion between polymer and carbon fiber is stronger. The effect of mechanical interlocking has a great influence on the dynamic mechanical properties of the composites with CNT-coated CF, which indicates that coating CF with CNTs is a suitable method to fabricate CNT/CF/PC hybrid composites.

• Macromolecular Research
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.357-362
• /
• 2007

Polyimide/carbon nanotube (CNT) composite films, for potential use in high performance microelectronics and aerospace applications, were prepared by mixing a polyisoimide (PII) solution and a CNT suspension in NMP, followed by casting, evaporation and thermal imidization. The CNTs were modified by a nitric acid treatment to improve the thermal and electrical properties, as well as to provide good dispersion of the CNTs in a polymer matrix. The formation of functional groups on the modified CNT was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscopy revealed the modified CNTs to be well dispersed in the polyimide matrix, with a uniform diameter of ca. 50 nm. The thermal stability of the films containing the CNTs was improved due to the enhanced interfacial interaction and good dispersion between the polyimide matrix and modified CNTs. In addition, the thermal expansion coefficient of the composites films was slightly decreased, but the dielectric constants increased linearly with increasing CNT content.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
• /
• v.31 no.2 s.257
• /
• pp.237-244
• /
• 2007

In order to obtain mechanical properties of CNT/Polymer nano-composites, molecular dynamics simulation is performed. Overall system was modeled as a flexible unit cell in which carbon nanotubes are embedded into a polyethylene matrix for N $\sigma$ T ensemble simulation. COMPASS force field was chosen to describe inter and intra molecular potential and bulk effect was achieved via periodic boundary conditions. In CNT-polymer interface, only Lennard-Jones non-bond potential was considered. Using Parrinello-Rahman fluctuation method, mechanical properties of orthotropic nano-composites under various temperatures were successfully obtained. Also, we investigated thermal behavior of the short CNT reinforced nanocomposites system with predicting glass transition temperature.

• Polymer(Korea)
• /
• v.35 no.1
• /
• pp.60-65
• /
• 2011

In order to maximize the performance of polymer nano-composites, it is essential to understand an effect of a dispersion state on material properties as well as to achieve highly dispersed composites. In this work, a simple quantitative approach to evaluate the degree of dispersion was suggested for carbon nanotube (CNT) embedded polymer nano-composites. Through UV-visible spectroscopy analysis, the transmittance of nano-composites was measured at various dispersion states and it was found that the transmittance reduced as the dispersion state of CNT improved. Based on the results, an effective concentration factor for quantitative evaluation of dispersion state was introduced into the Beer-Lambert transmittance law. The proposed method and parameter to evaluate the degree of dispersion were verified by analyzing the transmittances at different dispersion states of CNT, concentrations of CNT and sample thicknesses.