Title
Tensile Properties and Fracture Behavior of Different Carbon Nanotube-Grafted Polyacrylonitrile-Based Carbon Fibers
Author
Kimiyoshi Naito
Year
2014
Journal
Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance
Abstract
The tensile properties and fracture behavior of different carbon nanotube (CNT)-grafted polyacrylonitrile-based (T1000GB) single carbon fibers were investigated. Grafting of CNTs was achieved via chemical vapor deposition (CVD). When Fe(C5H5)2 (also applied via CVD) was used as the catalyst, the tensile strength and Weibull modulus of the carbon fibers were improved, possibly due to the growth of dense CNT networks on the carbon fibers, which may have led to a reduction in the number of strength-limiting defects. Separately, at lower concentrations of an Fe(NO3)3·9H2O catalyst in ethanol, which was applied via dipping, the tensile strength of CNT-grafted fibers was nearly identical to that of the as-received fibers, although the Weibull modulus was higher. For higher concentrations of the Fe(NO3)3·9H2O catalyst, however, the tensile strength and the Weibull modulus were lower than those for the as-received material. Although the density of the CNT network increased with the concentration of the Fe(NO3)3·9H2O catalyst in the ethanol solution, heating of the ethanolic Fe(NO3)3·9H2O catalyst solution generated nitric acid (HNO3) due to decomposition, which damaged the fiber surfaces, resulting in an increase in the number of flaws and consequently a reduction in the tensile strength. Therefore, the tensile strength and Weibull modulus of CNT-grafted carbon fibers vary due to the combination of these effects and as a function of the catalyst concentration.
Instrument
NRS-5100
Keywords
Raman imaging microscopy, Failure analysis, Mechanical, Nanomaterials,