Structure and Properties of Carbon Nanotube Reinforced Nanocomposites

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes (CNT) possess many unique characteristics that promise to revolutionize the world of structural materials resulting in significant impact on our capability to build lighter, smaller and higher performance structures for aerospace and many other industrial applications. When the CNT are aligned, micromechanical studies showed the potential of an order of magnitude increase in mechanical properties comparing to the state of the art carbon fiber reinforced composites. The coelectrospinning process is introduced as a pathway to realize this potential by aligning and carrying the CNT in the form of nanocomposite fibrils; thus forming the precursor for linear, planar and 3D fiber assemblies for macrocomposites. In this study, SWNT were purified and dispersed in polyacrylonitrile solution for co-electrospinning into nanocomposite fibrils. The structure, composition and physical properties of these composite fibrils were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, TEM, AFM, and TGA.