Effects of carbon nanotubes by electrophoretic deposition on interlaminar properties of two dimensional carbon/carbon composites

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were deposited uniformly on carbon cloth by electrophoretic deposition (EPD). Thereafter, CNT-doped clothes were stacked and densified by pyrocarbon via chemical vapor infiltration to fabricate two-dimensional (2D) carbon/carbon (C/C) composites. Effects of EPD CNTs on interlaminar shear performance and mode II interlaminar fracture toughness (G _IIc) of 2D C/C composites were investigated. Results showed that EPD CNTs were uniformly covered on carbon fibers, acting as a porous coating. Such a CNT coating can obviously enhance the interlaminar shear strength and G _IIc of 2D C/C composites. With increaing EPD CNTs, the interlaminar shear strength and G _IIc of 2D C/C composites increase greatly and then decrease, both of which run up to their maximum values, i e, 13.6 MPa and 436.0 J·m⁻², when the content of EPD CNTs is 0.54 wt%, 2.27 and 1.45 times of the baseline. Such improvements in interlaminar performance of 2D C/C composites are mainly beneficial from their increased cohesion of interlaminar matrix, which is caused not only by the direct reinforcing effect of EPD CNT network but also by the capacity of EPD CNTs to refine pyrocarbon matrix and induce multilayered microstructures that greatly increase the crack propagation resistance through “crack-blocking and -deflecting mechanisms”.

Keywords

electrophoretic deposition / carbon nanotube / C/C composite / interlaminar performance / reinforcing mechanism

References

[1] Zhao J G, Li K Z, Li H J, et al. The Influence of Thermal Gradient on Pyrocarbon Deposition in Carbon Carbon Composites during the CVI Process[J]. Carbon, 2006, 44(4): 786-791.

[2] Li H J, Li A J, Bai R C, et al. Numerical Simulation of Chemical Vapor Infiltration of Propylene into C/C Composites with Reduced Multi-step Kinetic Models[J]. Carbon, 2005, 43: 2937-2950.

[3] Yu SQ, Zhang WG. Effects of Heat-treatment Temperature on Mechanical Properties of Pyrocarbon and Carbon/Carbon Composites[J]. Chinese Journal of Inorganic Materials, 2010, 25: 315-320.

[4] Sauder C, Lamon J, Pailler R. The Tensile Properties of Carbon Matrices at Temperatures up to 2200 °C[J]. Carbon, 2005, 43(10): 2054-2065.

[5] Xiao P, Lu X F, Liu Y Q, et al. Effect of In-situ Grown Carbon Nanotubes on the Structure and Mechanical Properties of Unidirectional Carbon/Carbon Composites[J]. Materials Science and Engineering A, 2011, 528: 3056-3061.

[6] Song Q, Li K Z, Li H L, et al. Grafting Straight Carbon Nanotubes Radially onto Carbon Fibers and Their Effect on the Mechanical Properties of Carbon/Carbon Composites[J]. Carbon, 2012, 50: 3949-3952.

[7] Gong Q M, Li Z, Zhou X W, et al. Synthesis and Characterization of In-situ Grown Carbon Nanofiber/Nanotube Reinforced Carbon/Carbon Composites[J]. Carbon, 2005, 43: 2426-2429.

[8] Zhang H, Guo L J, Song Q, et al. Microstructure and Flexural Properties of Carbon/Carbon Composite with In-situ Grown Carbon Nanotube as Secondary Reinforcement[J]. Progress in Natural Science: Materials International, 2013, 23: 157-163.

[9] Zhang Q H, Liu J W, Sager R, et al. Hierarchical Composites of Carbon Nanotubes on Carbon Fiber: Influence of Growth Condition on Fiber Tensile Properties[J]. Composites Science and Technology, 2009, 69: 594-601.

[10] Qian H, Bismarck A, Greenhalgh E S, et al. Hierarchical Composites Reinforced with Carbon Nanotube Grafted Fibers The Potential Assessed at the Single Fiber Level[J]. Chemical Materials, 2008, 20: 1862-1869.

[11] Song Q, Li K Z, Li H J, et al. Increasing the Tensile Property of Unidirectional Carbon/Carbon Composites by Grafting Carbon Nanotubes onto Carbon Fibers by Electrophoretic Deposition[J]. Journal of Materials Science & Technology, 2013, 29: 711-714.

[12] Carlsson LA, Gillespie JW, Pipes RB. On the Analysis and Design of the End Notched Flexure (ENF) Specimen for Mode II Testing[J]. Journal of Composite Materials, 1986, 20: 594-604.

[13] Li K Z, Song Q, Wu L Y, et al. Influence of Carbon Nanotube Content on Microstructures and Mechanical Properties of Carbon/Carbon Composite[J]. Chinese Journal of Inorganic Chemistry, 2011, 27(5): 1001-1007.

[14] Guo L J, Zhang D S, Li K Z, et al. Fabrication of Isotropic Pyrocarbon at 1400 °C by Thermal Gradient Chemical Vapor Deposition Apparatus[J]. Journal of Wuhan University of Technolotgy-Materials Science Edition, 2009, 23: 157-163.

[15] Li K Z, Deng H, Li H, et al. Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Carbon/Carbon Composites Doped with LaCl3[J]. Materials Science and Engineering A, 2011, 529: 177-183.

[16] Zhang S Y, Li H J, Sun J. Investigation of Mechanical Properties of 2D C/C Composites Filled with Different Fillers[J]. Journal of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 2001, 35: 1175-1179.

[17] Song Q, Li K Z, Li H Z, et al. A Novel Method to Fabricate Isotropic Pyrocarbon by Densifying a Multi-walled Carbon Nanotube Preform by Fixed-bed Chemical Vapor Deposition[J]. Carbon, 2013, 59: 547-550.

[18] Song Q, Li K Z, Qi L H, et al. The Reinforcement and Toughening of Pyrocarbon-based Carbon/Carbon Composite by Controlling Carbon Nanotube Growth Position in Carbon Felt[J]. Materials Science and Engineering A, 2013, 564(1): 71-75.