Carbon Fiber Cloth Research Articles

Preparation of meter-scale Cu foils with decimeter grains and the use for the synthesis of graphene films

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is the most promising method for the preparation of high-quality and large-area graphene films, especially the epitaxial growth of graphene on large-area single-crystal Cu foils. While single-crystal Cu foils are normally achieved by thermally annealing the commercial polycrystalline Cu foils, their size and therefore the size of graphene films grown on them are limited to the size of the reaction chamber. We report a simple and feasible method to prepare large-area Cu foils with decimeter grains by thermally annealing the rolled-up Cu foils, where the Cu layers are separated by thin porous carbon fiber cloths. The carbon fiber cloths prevent Cu layers from sticking to each other at high temperatures while do not block the gas transportation. In such a way, the utilization efficiency of the reaction chamber is significantly improved, e.g., 0.2 m × (1–2) m Cu foils can be processed even in a 5 cm diameter quartz tube chamber. High-quality graphene films grown on such Cu foils are then demonstrated. This method may be suitable for the annealing of other metal foils to enlarge grain size and the synthesis of other two-dimensional materials on them such as h-BN.

Redox Chemistry of Mn2+ on N‐Doped Porous Carbon Fibers for High‐Performance Electrochemical Energy Storage

Earth‐abundant manganese (Mn) compounds have multifarious valence states that make Mn advantageous for electrochemical energy storage applications. Benefiting from the unity of opposites in redox chemistry, a novel aqueous all‐Mn energy storage device (AMESD) based on the redox chemistry of Mn2+ is proposed, which is a simple‐structured battery that can be initially assembled by two bare carbon fiber cloths (CFCs) and the electrolyte. Moreover, the effects of electrolyte optimization and the modification of CFCs on the energy storage performance of the novel battery are discussed. The device based on N‐doped porous CFCs achieves the highest areal capacity of 1.46 mAh cm−2 (≈152.1 mAh g−1), along with an energy density of 1.10 mWh cm−2 and a power density of 9.66 mW cm−2. More impressively, the charge–discharge cycles at a capacity of 0.33 mWh cm−2 are performed 40 000 times and it can maintain a high‐capacity retention rate of 93.5%. Even at a low current of 1 mA cm−2, the capacity retention rate after 100 cycles is maintained to 86%. Herein, a new option for low‐cost, ultrastable aqueous battery design is provided and the possibility of Mn‐based anodes for energy storage applications is explored.

Fabrication and analysis of micro carbon fiber filled nylon filament reinforced with Kevlar, Fiberglass, and HSHT Fiberglass using dual extrusion system

The optimal composition of Fiberglass, Kevlar, and high speed high temperature fiberglass (HSHT) in micro carbon fiber filled nylon polymer enhances properties like strength, wear resistance, and surface finish. Thus, the polymer composite fabricated by mixing Fiberglass, Kevlar, and HSHT in micro carbon fiber filled nylon filament designed to create strong, high-quality unrivalled parts will be extensively used in aerospace, automotive industry, and various engineering applications. In this work, continuous layers of Fiberglass, Kevlar, and HSHT have been reinforced in micro carbon fiber filled nylon filament to fabricate the composite at variable process parameters like fiberfill type, the thickness of the fiber layer, and the nature of the reinforcement. The tensile strength, wear strength, and surface roughness have been investigated for each test specimen using Universal Testing Machine, Pin on disc, and surfcom roughness tester as per American standards of testing (ASTM) ASTM D638 Type IV and ASTM G99 standard. Response surface methodology (RSM) has been implemented using a central composite design (CCD) approach for the modelling between input parameters and output responses. It is observed that fiber layer thickness of 1.071 mm, fiberglass and isotropic fill pattern provide the maximum tensile strength of 139 MPa, the minimum surface roughness of 3.087 µm, and wear rate of 0.4262 mm3/m. Further, the MOGA-ANN approach is used to optimize the multi response objectives. It is observed that 0.744 mm of fiber layer thickness, fiberglass reinforcement, and isotropic infill pattern provide the maximum tensile strength of 152.80 MPa and minimum surface roughness of 2.83 µm, 0.11709 mm3/m wear rate in MOGA-ANN. The balance and optimal response are accomplished in MOGA-ANN evolutionary hybrid algorithm, and the same has been validated experimentally. Data availability statementData used for this research paper is available upon request from the corresponding author. Data are provided in detail for all methods, results, and conclusions drawn throughout the paper.

Fabrication of liner low-density polyvinyl-based carbon fibers via ultraviolet irradiation-vulcanization crosslinking

Fabrication of liner low-density polyvinyl-based carbon fibers via ultraviolet irradiation-vulcanization crosslinking

Influence of Nafion-Coating of Ag/Ag2O/C Electrodes on Long-Term Performance of an Electroosmotic Pump

Ag/Ag2O electrodes were fabricated on both carbon fiber paper (CP) and carbon fiber cloth (CC) substrates via galvanostatic electrodeposition to develop an electroosmotic (EO) pump. The results showed that Ag was deposited along the carbon fibers and further grew into Ag particles. The Ag loading on CP was higher than that of CC at the same current density, and the difference increased further with the current density increase. Nafion coating was applied on the as-electrodeposited Ag/Ag2O/CP electrode to prevent the degradation of Ag particles using dip coating, followed by drop coating. The Nafion-coated Ag/Ag2O/CP electrodes showed much better electroosmotic pump performance and long-term stability than the uncoated electrodes, revealing that the Nafion ionomer can enhance the proton conductivity and mitigate the degradation of Ag particles during the electrochemical reactions. The EO pumps built with Nafion-modified Ag/Ag2O/CP electrodes with an active area of 0.28 cm2 generated a maximum pressure of 157 kPa and a maximum flow rate of 28.21 ul min−1. The Postmortem analysis of the pumped working fluids collected from the EO pumps operated at a constant potential for three days was performed to further investigate the effects of Nafion coating on Ag degradation.

Interface strengthening and high-value recycling of epoxy resin/carbon fiber fabric composites

Thermoset epoxy resin/carbon fiber fabric (EP/CF) composites are used increasingly in the fields of automotive, aerospace, and wind power, but the large difficulty in interfacial strengthening and high-value recycling of CF hinders their wide applications in advanced sustainable materials. Here, thiol-terminated hyperbranched polyimides (DSPI-n) were synthesized by a newly designed imide monomer and then were covalently grafted onto the surface of pristine carbon fiber fabric (PCF) by a thiol-ene click reaction to produce thiol-functionalized carbon fiber fabric (TCF). Then, the degradable imide skeleton hyperbranched epoxy resin (DIHE-n) was synthesized from DSPI-n by a click reaction to prepare the DIHE-n/TCF composites. Compared with the DIHE-n/PCF composites, the tensile strength, interlaminar shear strength, and interfacial shear strength of the DIHE-n/TCF composites were distinctly increased, explained by an interfacial strengthening mechanism, being attributed to a synergistic effect of the wide interface layer, strong load transfer capacity of the deformable hyperbranched topological structure, and mechanical interlock of double crosslinked structure. Moreover, the prepared composites can be completely degraded under mild conditions and the carbon fiber fabric can be intactly recycled. This study offers a new approach for the preparation of recyclable and high-performance EP/CF composites.

Influence of carbon and glass fiber reinforced composite adhesive on the strength of adhesively bonded joints

Abstract Today, due to the frequent use of composite materials used in the aerospace and automotive industries, an intensive study is carried out on the joining methods of these materials. One method of joining composite or aluminum alloy materials is adhesive bonding. Studies on the development of the strengths of adhesively bonded joints focused on adhesive type, the bonding method, and hybrid joints. In the present study, a different method was used to increase joint strength. This study experimentally and numerically investigated the mechanical properties of single-lap joints bonded by a composite adhesive – obtained by adding fiber fabric to the adhesive. Adhesively bonded single-lap joints were produced using DP460 toughened adhesive type as the adhesives; AA2024-T3 aluminum alloy was used as the adherend, and carbon fiber and glass fiber fabric were used as the added fiber. In addition, for the numerical analysis of the presented study, the bulk properties of the composite adhesives were obtained. As a result, the use of fiber-reinforced adhesive in bonding joints significantly increases the failure load of the joint, as it prevents the progression of cracks formed in the joint. However, the increase rate in the failure load changes depending on the adhesive thickness and the type of fiber fabric. As follows, the failure loads of the fiber-reinforced joints increase between 5% and 41% compared to the non-fiber-reinforced joints. In addition, it was observed that the results obtained from the numerical analysis and the results obtained from the experiments were consistent with each other.

Electrochemical performance of supercapacitor electrodes based on carbon aerogel-reinforced spread tow carbon fiber fabrics

Fabric-based supercapacitor electrodes were fabricated by embedding spread tow carbon fiber fabrics, in monolithic, bicontinuous carbon aerogels (CAG). The incorporation of CAG, at less than 30 wt%, increased the specific surface area of the CAG-CF fabric to above 230 m2 g−1 and the pore volume to about 0.35 cm3 g−1, orders of magnitude higher than that for the as-received carbon fibres. The presence of the CAG not only improves the electrochemical performance of the composite electrodes but may enhance the mechanical response due to the high stiffness of the aerogel structure. Cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge-discharge and electrochemical impedance measurements were performed on symmetric supercapacitor cells consisting of two CAG-reinforced fabrics in an ionic liquid electrolyte. The specific capacitance of the symmetric supercapacitor was determined to be in the range 3–5 F g−1, considerably higher than that for the plain carbon fibers. Since optimum structural electrolytes are not yet available, this value was normalized to the total mass of both electrodes to place an upper bound on future structural supercapacitors using this spread tow CAG-CF system. The maximum specific energy and specific power, normalized to the total mass of the electrodes, were around 2.64 W h kg−1 and 0.44 kW kg−1, respectively. These performance metrics demonstrate that the thin CAG-modified spread tow fabrics are promising electrodes for future use in structural supercapacitors. In principle, in future devices, the reduced ply thickness offers both improved mechanical properties and shorter ion diffusion distance, as well as opportunities to fabricate higher voltage multicell assemblies within a given component geometry.

The effect of fiber length and structure on joint strength in bonded joints with fiber-reinforced composite adhesive

Today, composite materials are frequently used as materials in engineering due to their light weight and strength. Studies on the use of composite materials and the adhesively bonded joints used to bond these materials are of importance. In general, studies on the bonding method with adhesives are concerned with the strength of the joint. In this study, fiber fabric was reinforced to the bonding area in order to increase the strength of the bonding connections used in the aviation and automotive fields. DP460 structural adhesive as adhesive and AA2024-T3 aluminum alloy used in aviation field as bonded material were used to produce a single-lap joint bonded with adhesive. In addition, carbon fiber, glass fiber and aramid fiber fabric were used as reinforcing elements in the adhesive zone. Furthermore, to examine the effects of fiber fabric length in the overlap area at joint-failure load, four different length fiber fabric such as 100%, 80%, 40% and 20% of the overlap length were added. As a result, when the experimental failure loads were examined, the composite adhesive obtained by adding fibrous fabric has been found to increase the load failure of the joint between about 16% and 90%. However, increase rate in the failure load changes depending on the length fiber fabric and the type of fiber fabric. Moreover, in the geometries of single-lap joints produced in this study, the best fiber fabric type, in terms of the failure load of the joint, was carbon fiber fabric.

Water Skin Effect and Arched Double‐Sided Evaporation for Boosting All‐Weather High Salinity Desalination

AbstractHigh efficiency, long‐term salt rejection, and continuous operation under all‐weather conditions have always been the goals of solar‐driven desalination of high salinity brine. Here, a synergistic strategy of water skin effect and double‐sided evaporation is proposed by an arched evaporator to overcome the above issues. Specifically, a hydrophobic carbon‐fiber cloth (CC) is coated with metal‐organic framework (MOF)‐derived superhydrophilic carbon films, and bent into an arch‐like configuration. Due to unique hydrophobic‐core/hydrophilic‐shell structure, an ultrathin water film (30–150 µm) is confined to the outer layer like skin. Thanks to the water skin effect and coevaporation of outer and inner surfaces, the arched evaporator displays ultrahigh evaporation rate of 3.21 kg m−2 h−1 (3.5 wt% NaCl) and 2.87 kg m−2 h−1 (20 wt% NaCl) under 1 sun illumination. Simultaneously, the free‐flowing water skin with fast convection for salt rejection, ensures stable evaporation performance during the whole day. Additionally, an evaporation rate up to 3.5 kg m−2 h−1 is acquired with only 2.5 V input voltage in a dark environment, attributable to the superior electrothermal effect of CC. The constructed evaporator with all‐in‐one function provides an effective way for commercial, portable photothermal conversion to achieve seawater purification.

A facile and green strategy to achieve metallized woven carbon fiber through the triple roles of dopamine in in-situ thermal reduction of Ag

Metallized carbon fiber (CF) has received lots of attention due to its improved electrical conductivity and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding performance. Herein, we propose a facile and environmental strategy to achieve uniform and dense silver (Ag) deposition on polydopamine (PDA) modified woven CF by a simple in-situ thermal reduction approach. PDA plays three important roles for anchoring and formatting Ag layer by accommodating the CF surface with improved interfacial actions, capturing the silver ions (Ag+) and then reducing the Ag+ during the hot-pressing process. The CF as intrinsic conductive substrate simultaneously promoted the reduction capability of PDA through electrons transfer during the reduction process. As a result, the single-layered Ag coated CF fabric can be easily formed and exhibits excellent EMI shielding effectiveness (73.08 dB) and reliable shielding performance. This strategy saves tedious fabrication process and avoids the use of toxic and harmful substances, which is highly promising in fabricating large scale metallized fiber cloths.

Plasma-activated water for improved intercalation and pseudocapacitance of MnO2 supercapacitor electrodes

Portable energy storage devices and carbon-neutral manufacturing are experiencing an ever-increasing demand and research interest. Plasma-assisted synthesis of materials has shown early success in addressing these demands due to the low carbon emissions and good versatility offered by such techniques. Herein, non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma is used to assist the synthesis of MnO2 as supercapacitor electrode materials as a fast, energy-efficient approach. MnO2 is electrochemically synthesized on carbon fiber cloth and modified using plasma and plasma-activated water (PAW). This work develops the first use of PAW (pH 3.2) for the synthesis of MnO2 supercapacitor materials that exhibit high specific capacitance. A peak capacitance of 93.4 Fg-1 was achieved with good cycle stability of 96.1% after 1000 cycles with a mixture of only 1 ml PAW and 50 ml KMnO4 electrolyte. The results revealed that PAW is an effective delivery system for nitrogen functional groups and promotes significant hydration of interlayer spaces within the electrode materials. It is demonstrated that the addition of PAW causes charge storage mechanisms to become more surface redox dominated and can improve both the specific capacitance and cycle stability of the electrodes.

Rapid and low-cost carbon/carbon composites by using graphite slurry impregnated prepregs

A rapid and low-cost carbon/carbon (C/C) composites preparation method is proposed: graphite prepreg-coated carbon fiber fabric (CFF) is formed by hot pressing, followed by hot isostatic pressing and high temperature graphitization, to prepare C/C composite with low porosity and high crystallinity. In this method, the carbon fiber (CF) mass fraction can be precisely regulated in the range of 40–95% by the impregnation process conditions of CFF in graphite prepreg. The graphite particles in the preform were graphitized and bonded with CFF by high temperature graphitization. Finally, a ZrO2 anti-ablative layer was applied using sol-gel method. The results show that when the CF mass fraction is 50%, the C/C composite with a crystallinity of 92.21 and a porosity of 3.47% can be obtained, with mass ablation rate of 0.23 mg/s and density of 1.62 g/m3. The method can prepare C/C composites with uniform density and high ablation resistance.

Characterization of the dissipative large deformation bending response of dry fabric composites as occurs during forming

Bending rigidity is known to play a significant role in the formability of composite fabrics, as it can affect wrinkles formation and reduce the mechanical properties of the final part. However, measuring the highly nonlinear dissipative bending behaviour of unconsolidated fabrics undergoing large deformation, is an ongoing challenge. In this article, a customized setup is employed to capture the bending as well as reverse bending responses of unconsolidated fabrics under large deformation (up to ±90o bent angle). As a test case, a typical fiberglass fabric that is thick and has high areal density, as well as a carbon fiber fabric with lesser thickness and lower areal density are considered and compared. In addition, the response of the fabrics was compared to that of individual yarns, suggesting that the interlaced architecture and the dissipative behavior of yarns affect the effective bending rigidity, along with the ensuing hysteresis effects during loading/unloading. Furthermore, when the unconsolidated fabrics were oriented off-axis relative to the bending axis, the bending rigidity interacted with the in-plane trellising (reach to maximum of 3.3o shear at full bent angle), suggesting that the classical laminate theory would not apply to capture shear-bending coupling in dry fabrics.

Electrochemical Sensing of H2O2 by Employing a Flexible Fe3O4/Graphene/Carbon Cloth as Working Electrode

We report the synthesis of Fe3O4/graphene (Fe3O4/Gr) nanocomposite for highly selective and highly sensitive peroxide sensor application. The nanocomposites were produced by a modified co-precipitation method. Further, structural, chemical, and morphological characterization of the Fe3O4/Gr was investigated by standard characterization techniques, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and high-resolution TEM (HRTEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The average crystal size of Fe3O4 nanoparticles was calculated as 14.5 nm. Moreover, nanocomposite (Fe3O4/Gr) was employed to fabricate the flexible electrode using polymeric carbon fiber cloth or carbon cloth (pCFC or CC) as support. The electrochemical performance of as-fabricated Fe3O4/Gr/CC was evaluated toward H2O2 with excellent electrocatalytic activity. It was found that Fe3O4/Gr/CC-based electrodes show a good linear range, high sensitivity, and a low detection limit for H2O2 detection. The linear range for the optimized sensor was found to be in the range of 10-110 μM and limit of detection was calculated as 4.79 μM with a sensitivity of 0.037 µA μM-1 cm-2. The cost-effective materials used in this work as compared to noble metals provide satisfactory results. As well as showing high stability, the proposed biosensor is also highly reproducible.

Vertical growth of leaf-like Co-metal organic framework on carbon fiber cloth as integrated electrode for sensitive detection of dopamine and uric acid

Application of metal organic framework (MOF) in electrochemical sensors usually suffer from poor conductivity, low electrocatalysis, material aggregation and complex electrode fabrication. Here, leaf-like Co-MOF (L-Co-MOF) vertically grown on carbon cloth (CC) was prepared as integrated electrode for electrochemical detection. The L-Co-MOF/CC with interlaced Co-MOF nanosheets as building blocks greatly reduces aggregation, provides large surface area and highly exposed active sites to interact with analyte. The synergy between L-Co-MOF and CC endows the composite greatly enhanced electrocatalysis on oxidation of dopamine (DA) and uric acid (UA) compared with those of ordinary polyhedral Co-MOF or 2D Co-MOF grown in solution. The L-Co-MOF/CC can be directly used as working electrode without further modification, and it achieved the separate detection of DA and UA in the range of 5.6 nM-70 μM, and 21 nM-350 μM, respectively. Simultaneous detection of DA and UA was also performed with a LOD of 2.5 nM for DA and 7 nM for UA, respectively. The sensor with high reproducibility and good anti-interference properties also achieved practical sensing of DA and UA in serum with recoveries of 83.3–104.0%. Such integrated 2D-MOF-carbon material composite with unique structure and high electrocatalysis hold great promise in electrochemical device.

Prestoring lithium into SnO2 coated 3D carbon fiber cloth framework as dendrite-free lithium metal anode

For several decades, the promise of implementing of lithium (Li) metal anodes has been regarded as the ‘‘holy grail’’ for Li-based batteries. Herein, we have proposed a facile design of a carbon fiber cloth (CFC) framework coated with SnO2 nanoparticles through a hydrothermal process, which served as a reliable host for prestoring molten Li to produce a CFC@SnO2@Li composite anode. XRD, TEM, HRTEM, XPS and different electrochemical characterizations were carried out. Owing to the synergetic effects of the 3D conductive CFC and the coated lithiophilic SnO2 nanoparticles, the designed CFC@SnO2@Li electrodes can buffer the volume changes and reduce the local current density, thus suppress the Li dendrites during cycling. Consequently, the CFC@SnO2 electrodes showed a high and stable CE of 98.6% for 1000 cycles at a current density of 1 mA cm−2 (1 mAh cm−2). What is more, at a high current density of 5 mA cm−2 and a high areal capacity of 5 mAh cm−2, the symmetric cell displayed relatively low overpotential and long cycling lifetime of 1600 h. The results confirm its great potential as lithium metal anodes in practical battery applications.

Fabrication of macroporous magnetic carbon fibers via the cooperative etching-electrospinning technology toward ultra-light microwave absorption

Lightweight characteristics and high-efficiency absorption performance are two essential factors for microwave absorbents in practical applications, but still face considerable conflicts. Herein, we propose the cooperation of etching and electrospinning technology to construct macroporous magnetic carbon fibers (MMCFs) that simultaneously tackle the conflicts associated with lightweight characteristics and superior absorption performance. Specifically, ZIF-67 nanocubes are firstly etched into hollow structure and efficiently embedded into PAN fibers by electrospinning, the obtained fibers are transformed into MMCFs via the subsequent pyrolysis, in which inner hollow ZIF-67 nanocubes are converted into macroporous magnetic nanocubes and PAN fibers are carbonized into carbon fibers. Benefiting from the cooperative advantages of hollow macroporous cavity, conductive networks and dielectric-magnetic synergistic effect, the fabricated MMCFs exhibit superior microwave attenuation compared with most reported metal-organic-frameworks derivatives at an ultralow filler loading of 5 wt%. The maximum absorption intensity promises a high value of −49.4 dB and the effective bandwidth achieves 10.8 GHz. This work overcomes the vital limitation associated with lower filler loading of MOFs derived absorbents, and inspires us a new prospect to develop ultra-light absorbents in satisfying the electromagnetic protection demand.

Research on the Application of Reinforced Concrete Building Structure Reinforcement Technology in Engineering

Old buildings because of long service life or natural damage, easy to appear durability, bearing capacity, stability decline, in order to ensure the safe use of building structure must take reinforcement measures. Increasing section method, carbon fiber cloth outsourcing, pasting steel plate method, planting reinforcement method and so on are commonly used reinforced concrete building structure reinforcement technology, but each technology is not the same application conditions and application effect. In this paper, the reinforcement and renovation project of a frame structure industrial plant in Tonglu, Zhejiang Province is taken as an example. Firstly, the basic ideas of reinforcement design and the basis of selection of reinforcement and renovation technology are outlined. Then, the application points of different reinforcement and renovation technologies are emphatically analyzed from four parts: basement frame column, first floor frame column, frame beam and sandwich structure. It provides some reference for the reinforcement and renovation of modern steel concrete building structure.

Flexible carbon fiber cloth supports decorated with cerium metal- organic frameworks and multi-walled carbon nanotubes for simultaneous on-site detection of Cd2+ and Pb2+ in food and water samples

The widespread heavy metal pollution endangers human health; hence, accurate on-site detection and quantification of heavy metal content in the surroundings is a vital step in reversing the harmful effect. Herein, an electrochemical sensor based on flexible cerium metal–organic framework@multi-walled carbon nanotubes/carbon cloth (CeMOF@MWCNTs/CC) was constructed for simultaneous on-site detection of Cd2+ and Pb2+ in food and water samples. The rich carboxyl groups of MWCNTs provided abundant sites for the adsorption of Cd2+ and Pb2+, and the mutual conversion of Ce3+ and Ce4+ in CeMOF facilitated the reduction and reoxidation of metal ions. The prepared electrode showed excellent performance in the simultaneous measurement of Cd2+ and Pb2+, with detection limits of 2.2 ppb and 0.64 ppb, respectively. More importantly, the sensing platform has been successfully used to detect simultaneously Cd2+ and Pb2+ in grain and water samples, and the detection results were consistent with the standard methods, showing great potential in environmental monitoring and food safety.