Improved mechanical/tribological properties of polyimide/carbon fabric composites by in situ-grown polyaniline nanofibers

Abstract

To enhance properties of polyimide (PI)/carbon fabric (CFC) composites, polyaniline nanofibers (PANI-NF) and polyaniline film (PANI-F) were success fully grown on the CFC surfaces to tune the interface with PI. A conformal PANI-F on the CFC surface was formed using the high concentrations of aniline and oxidant, while at the lower concentration, a large amount of interconnected PANI-NF with the average length of about 150 nm and the diameters of 30–50 nm was obtained. Through the chemical reaction between polyamic acid and PANI, interface compatibility of PI and CFC was improved. Meanwhile, PANI-NF on the fiber surface provided an effective mechanical interlocking at the interface. As a result, PI/CFC-PANI-NF composite exhibited the best thermal, mechanical and tribological properties. The tensile strength and modulus of PI/CFC-PANI-NF composite increased by 48.2% and 35.1% respectively compared to PI/CFC-PANI-F composite, while the wear rate declined sharply by 60%. Therefore, the growth of PANI on CFC is an ideal way to obtain high-performance composite that can meet demanding conditions.