Superior electrical, mechanical and viscoelastic properties of <scp>CNTs</scp> coated carbon textile reinforced phenolic composite for <scp>high‐performance</scp> structural applications
Ravindra Kumar, Kamal K. Kar, Kinshuk Dasgupta
Abstract
Abstract In the present study, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were grown up on nickel‐coated carbon textiles utilizing acetylene gas as a carbon precursor in an isothermal CVD reactor. The effects of CNT coating time (0 to 25 min) in the carbon textile‐phenolic composites (CPCs) prepared via conventional hand‐layup technique followed by compression molding were assessed using microstructures, static and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, density and electrical properties. Significant improvement was observed in static as well as dynamic mechanical properties and electrical properties for all the CNT coated samples. Though, 15 min coating time gives the optimum results. The results showed ~71, 74, 62, 67, 38, and 45% increment in storage modulus, loss modulus, flexural strength, flexural modulus, tensile strength, Young's modulus, respectively. Furthermore, huge improvement (707%) in electrical conductivity and significant enrichment in thermal stability mark CNTs coated carbon textile as the efficient alternative reinforcement for high‐performance thermo‐structural applications such as aerospace and automotive fields.