Enhanced microwave shielding and mechanical properties of multiwall carbon nanotubes anchored carbon fiber felt reinforced epoxy multiscale composites

B P Singh,Preetam Bharadwaj,Veena Choudhary,R B Mathur

doi:10.1007/s13204-013-0214-0

B P Singh, Preetam Bharadwaj + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13204-013-0214-0

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Abstract

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were grown on carbon fiber (CF) felt by chemical vapor deposition that resulted into strongly anchored carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the CF surface. These multiscale preforms were used as the reinforcement in epoxy resin to develop multi scale CF felt-MWCNT/epoxy composites. The flexural strength (FS) and the flexural modulus (FM) of the composites were found to increase with increasing amount of CNTs grown on CF felt surface. FS improved by 37 %, i.e. 119 MPa compared to 87 MPa for CF felt/epoxy composites prepared under identical conditions. The FM also improved by 153 %, i.e. 15.7 GPa compared to 6.2 GPa for the CF/epoxy composites. The incorporation of MWCNTs on the CF felt produced a significant change in the electromagnetic interference shielding of these composites which improved from −21 to −27 dB for CF felt-MWCNT/epoxy multiscale composites in the Ku band (12.4–18 GHz) and indicates the usefulness of these strong composites for microwave shielding.

Highlights

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) is a complex and technical challenge these days which adversely affects and degrades the effective performance of a system
The incorporation of Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on the carbon fiber (CF) felt produced a significant change in the electromagnetic interference shielding of these composites which improved from -21 to -27 dB for CF feltMWCNT/epoxy multiscale composites in the Ku band (12.4–18 GHz) and indicates the usefulness of these strong composites for microwave shielding
We used three-dimensional porous CF felt and up to 18 wt% of MWCNT of CF felt was grown using chemical vapor deposition and these were used as reinforcements in epoxy resin. We show that this multiscale composite can serve as an efficient EMI shielding material with the combination of light weight, high strength and high electrical conductivity

Summary

Introduction

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) is a complex and technical challenge these days which adversely affects and degrades the effective performance of a system. It is suggested that CNT reinforced epoxy composites can be structurally strong EMI shielding materials. PAN-based CF fabric was used as a substrate to grow MWCNT and it was used as reinforcement in the epoxy resin (Singh et al 2012; Mathur et al 2012).

Results

Conclusion