Synthesis of glass fiber-multiwall carbon nanotube hybrid structures for high-performance conductive composites

The conductive polyamide 66 (PA66)/carbon nanotube (CNT) composites reinforced with glass fiber-multiwall CNT (GF-MWCNT) hybrids were prepared by melt mixing. Electrostactic adsorption was utilized for the deposition of MWCNTs on the surfaces of glass fibers (GFs) to construct hybrid reinforcement with high-electrical conductivity. The fabricated PA66/CNT composites reinforced with GF-MWCNT hybrids showed enhanced electrical conductivity and mechanical properties as compared to those of PA66/CNT or PA66/GF/CNT composites. A significant reduction in percolation threshold was found for PA66/GF-MWCNT/CNT composite (only 0.70 vol%). The morphological investigation demonstrated that MWCNT coating on the surfaces of the GFs improved load transfer between the GFs and the matrix. The presence of MWCNTs in the matrix-rich interfacial regions enhanced the tensile modulus of the composite by about 10% than that of PA66/GF/CNT composite at the same CNT loading, which shows a promising route to build up high-performance conductive composites. POLYM. COMPOS. 34:1313–1320, 2013. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers

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