Abstract:
A novel method of fabricating carbon nanotube sheet scrolled fiber and fiber tows (carbon, graphite, glass, natural polymer, synthetic polymer, metallic, silicon carbide, Kevlar, etc.) in composites with improved interfacial shear strength, compressive strength, yield strength, stiffness and toughness has been reported. Single or multiple layers of carbon nanotube sheet, with a bias/wrapping angle of 0° and 90°, has been scrolled around single fiber and fibers tows to improve the above mentioned mechanical properties of the matrix surrounding the fiber. Other common methods of growing CNTs directly on the fibers actually damage the fiber surface during the required precursor deposition and CNTs growth process. This demonstrated solid-state method overcomes such known problems. The CNTs sheet scrolled fiber is embedded into the polymer matrix exhibits significant (80%) increase in interfacial shear strength, compressive strength and toughness.
Abstract:
Provided by the inventive concept are aerogel foams as solid materials including hierarchical porosity created by a foam-like structure embedded in the skeletal framework of a regular aerogel, methods of preparing the same without the presence and/or use of added chemical foaming agents, prefabricated templates, supercritical fluids and/or sacrificial chemicals, and methods of using the same.