Fluid‐Induced Alignment of Carbon Nanofibers in Polymer Fibers

Abstract

Carbon nanofiber/polycaprolactone (CNF/PCL) composite fibers are fabricated using a microfluidic approach. The fibers are made with different content levels of CNFs and flow rate ratios between the core and sheath fluids. The electrical conductivity and tensile properties of these fibers are then investigated. It is found that at a CNF concentration of 3 wt%, the electrical conductivity of the composite fiber significantly increases to 1.11 S m−1. The yield strength, Young's modulus, and ultimate strength of the 3 wt% CNF increase relative to the pure PCL by factors of 1.72, 2.88, and 1.23, respectively. Additionally, the results show that a microfluidic approach can be considered as an effective method to align CNFs along the fibers in the longitudinal direction. image

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Apr 11, 2017
Source ID
10.1002/mame.201600544

Entities

People

  • Farrokh Sharifi
  • Mingchang Lu
  • Nicole N. Hashemi
  • Reza Montazami

Organizations

  • Iowa State University
  • Office of Naval Research

Tags

Readers

  • Mathematics or Statistics
  • Nanocomposite Materials Science
  • Reinforced Composite Materials

Technology Areas

  • Biotechnology