ELECTROPHORETIC DEPOSITION OF CNF ONTO CARBONFIBER LAYERS FOR MANUFACTURING OF FIBERREINFORCEDPOLYMER NANOCOMPOSITES

摘要

To manufacture Carbon Nanofiber (CNF)-enhanced polymer composites with improved andrnconsistent properties, two manufacturing issues have to be addressed: (1) limitations ofrndispersing CNF into polymer resin, and (2) filtration of the CNF by the micro-sized fibers duringrninjection of F-CNF-resin mixture. In this work, a methodology that aims at addressing these twornissues is presented. This methodology consists of depositing Functionalized CNF (F-CNF) ontorncarbon fiber plies via electrophoretic deposition prior to injection of the matrix system.rnDeposition of F-CNF onto carbon fiber plies results in fabrication of hybrid CNF-carbon fiberrnplies with high-concentrations of F-CNF that can be used to assemble multi-scale preforms forrnmanufacturing of fiber-reinforced polymer nanocomposites. In this way, dispersion and filtrationrnissues can be resolved and improved and consistent properties for polymer nanocomposites canrnbe obtained. F-CNF used for this purpose are functionalized following acid oxidationrnmethodology to charge the particles so that they can displace upon application of an electric fieldrnin F-CNF-aqueous media. F-CNF is characterized using infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetricrnanalysis to verify the carboxylic acid functionality. Further characterization wasrnperformed using light scattering technique to determine the F-CNF electrophoretic mobility. Thernhybrid F-CNF-carbon fiber plies were characterized using optical microscopy. Optical imagesrnshow that electrophoretic deposition is an effective method to deposit F-CNF onto the carbonrnfiber plies. Moreover, high concentrations of F-CNF were also observed in the hybrid plies.