Fabrication and characterization of ultrahigh-volume- fraction aligned carbon nanotube-polymer composites

Brian L Wardle; Diego S Saito; Enrique J García; A John Hart; Roberto Guzmán de Villoria; Eric A Verploegen

doi:10.1002/adma.200800295

Fabrication and characterization of ultrahigh-volume- fraction aligned carbon nanotube-polymer composites

Adv Mater. 2008 Jul 17;20(14):2707-14. doi: 10.1002/adma.200800295. Epub 2008 Jun 5.

Authors

Brian L Wardle¹, Diego S Saito, Enrique J García, A John Hart, Roberto Guzmán de Villoria, Eric A Verploegen

Affiliation

¹ Departments of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Chemical Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139 (USA). wardle@mit.edu.

PMID: 25213894
DOI: 10.1002/adma.200800295

Abstract

Aligned CNT nanocomposites with variable volume fraction, up to 20%, are demonstrated. Biaxial mechanical densification of aligned CNT forests, followed by capillarity-driven wetting using unmodified aerospace-grade polymers, creates centimeter-scale specimens. Characterizations confirm CNT alignment and dispersion in the thermosets, providing a useful platform for controlled nanoscale interaction and nanocomposite property studies that emphasize anisotropy.

Keywords: arrays; carbon nanotubes; composites; polymers; structure-property relationships.