Highly Aligned Ni-Decorated GO–CNT Nanostructures in Epoxy with Enhanced Thermal and Electrical Properties

Chenxi Hu, Hongnan Zhang, Nigel Neate, Michael Fay, Xianghui Hou, David Grant, Fang Xu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this study, graphene oxide–carbon nanotubes nanostructures decorated with nickel nanoparticles (NiGNT) were prepared through the molecular-level-mixing method, followed by a reduction process, and then applied as reinforcements to enhance the epoxy resin matrix. The ferromagnetism of the Ni nanoparticles allowed NiGNT nanostructures to be vertically aligned within the composite with the assistance of a magnetic field. Due to the alignment distribution of the NiGNT, the composites demonstrated enhanced anisotropic thermal and electrical conduction performances, compared with pure epoxy and randomly distributed composites. The aligned distribution of NiGNT–epoxy composites displayed 2.7 times higher thermal conductivity and around 104 times better electrical conduction performance, compared with pure epoxy. The thermal expansion of NiGNT–epoxy composite was also restricted in the aligned direction of NiGNT nanostructures. Thus, NiGNT–epoxy composites show great potential as future aerospace, aviation, and automobile materials.

Original languageEnglish
Article number2583
JournalPolymers
Volume14
Issue number13
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jul 2022
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • aligned distribution of NiGNT nanostructures
  • anisotropic thermal and electrical performances
  • epoxy-based composites
  • Ni-decorated GO–CNT nanostructures

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