Advanced multifunctional properties of aligned carbon nanotube-epoxy thin film composites

摘要

Carbon nanotube (CNT)/epoxy composite films were successfully developed by a combination of layer-by-layer and vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding methods using directly chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-spun CNT plies. CNT fractions in the composite films were found to be dramatically enhanced as the number of CNT plies increased. The as-prepared CNT/epoxy composite films with 24.4 wt.% CNTs exhibited ～10 and ～5 times enhancements in their strength and Young's modulus, respectively, and high toughness of up to 6.39 × 10~3 kJ/m~3. Electrical conductivity reached 252.8 S/cm for the 20-ply CNT/epoxy films, which was 20 times higher over those of the CNT/epoxy composites obtained by conventional dispersion methods. This work proposed a route to fabricate high-CNT-fraction CNT/epoxy composites on a large scale. The high toughness of these CNT/epoxy composite films also makes them promising candidates as protective materials.