Carbon nanotubes coated hybrid-fabric composites with enhanced mechanical and thermal properties for tribological applications

Poor interfacial adhesion and inferior thermal property of resin matrix severely obstruct the continued development of fabric-reinforced polymer composites for potential advanced tribological applications. Herein, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) encapsulated by copolymer of polydopamine (PDA) and polyethylenimine (PEI) directly deposited onto hybrid Nomex/PTFE fabric leading to a hierarchical reinforcing structure was successfully carried out via a facile one-pot synthesis. The achieved organic-inorganic hybrid functional coating significantly increased the wettability, reactive functional groups and surface roughness of hybrid-fabric. Tensile and peeling tests show that the hierarchical composites exhibited 38.4% and 63% enhancement in tensile strength and interfacial bonding strength compared to that of the pristine fabric composites. Furthermore, CNTs modification forming percolating networks on hybrid-fabric within the resin matrix effectively promotes the thermal stability of the fabric composites. Results of wear tests prove that the hierarchical composites exhibited outstanding tribological properties under varied applied loads.