Improvement in electrical characteristics by surface modification of multi-wall carbon nanotube based buckypaper for de-icing application

Icing hazards often cause severe mobility concerns, safety risks, and even accidents in modern industries. Various ice mitigation strategies have been employed. Electro-thermal heating approach is a popular measure for ice protection, in which heat is generated electrically by internal components and then transferred to the outer surface for anti-icing and de-icing operation. Given the increasing usage of composites in aircraft structures, self-heating fibre reinforced polymer composite has been studied as an ice protection solution for the new generation aircraft. The present work focuses on improving electrical characteristics of carbon nanotube (CNT) based buckypaper (via surface functionalization) and the heating performance with an ice-phobic resin. The results indicated that surface functionalization of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) was effective in obtaining MWCNT buckypaper (CNP) with improved electrical conductivity. The de-icing test confirmed the electro-thermal heating performance of the CNP based composite in a climate chamber at −20°C. The utilisation of surface modified MWCNTs in self-heating composites could be a promising strategy for maintaining lightweight and efficiency for electro-thermal systems to mitigate icing hazards.