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The effect of surface modification with carbon nanotubes upon the tensile strength and Weibull modulus of carbon fibers

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Abstract

Carbon fibers are widely used as reinforcements in composite materials because of their high specific strength and modulus. Today, a number of ultrahigh strength polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based (more than 6 GPa), and ultrahigh modulus pitch-based (more than 900 GPa) carbon fibers have been commercially available. In contrast, carbon nanotube (CNT) with the extremely high tensile strength have attracted attention as reinforcements. An interesting technique to modify the carbon fiber is CNT grafting on the carbon fiber surface. CNT-grafted carbon fibers offer the opportunity to add the potential benefits of nanoscale reinforcement to well-established fibrous composites to create micro-nano multiscale hybrid composites. In the present study, the tensile properties of CNT grown on T1000GB PAN- and K13D pitch-based carbon fibers have been investigated. Single filament tensile test at gauge lengths of 1, 5, and 25 mm were conducted. The effect of gauge length on tensile strength and Weibull modulus of CNT-grafted PAN- and pitch-based carbon fibers were evaluated. It was found that grafting of CNT improves the tensile strength and Weibull modulus of PAN- and pitch-based carbon fibers with longer gauge length (≥5 mm). The results also clearly show that for CNT-grafted and as-received PAN- and pitch-based carbon fibers, there is a linear relation between the Weibull modulus and the average tensile strength on log–log scale.

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Notes

  1. The cross-sections of the T1000GB PAN-based and the K13D pitch-based carbon fibers are almost circular. The T1000GB fiber has a particulate or granular microstructure. The K13D fiber has a sheet-like microstructure. The fractured surfaces of the T1000GB PAN-based carbon fiber show the initiation of failure from surface defects and a rough, rather poorly defined granular texture. However, the K13D pitch-based fiber obscures the initiation of failure and observes the crystallite sheets are a result of pull out at failure [2, 3, 12].

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by JSPS (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) KAKENHI 22360282 and JST (Japan Science and Technology Agency) through Advanced Low Carbon Technology Research and Development Program (ALCA).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Composite Materials Group, Hybrid Materials Unit, National Institute for Materials Science, 1-2-1 Sengen, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0047, Japan

    Kimiyoshi Naito & Yuta Inoue

  2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1595, USA

    Jenn-Ming Yang

  3. Department of Materials Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, 2641 Yamazaki, Noda, Chiba, 278-8510, Japan

    Yuta Inoue & Hiroshi Fukuda

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  1. Kimiyoshi Naito
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  2. Jenn-Ming Yang
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  3. Yuta Inoue
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  4. Hiroshi Fukuda
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Correspondence to Kimiyoshi Naito.

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Naito, K., Yang, JM., Inoue, Y. et al. The effect of surface modification with carbon nanotubes upon the tensile strength and Weibull modulus of carbon fibers. J Mater Sci 47, 8044–8051 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-012-6694-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-012-6694-6

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