Preparation of a carbon nanotube/carbon fiber hybrid and its wettability with epoxy

A carbon nanotube/carbon fiber(CNT/CF) hybrid was prepared via an aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition(AACVD) method using acetylene as carbon source and ferrocene as catalyst.The morphology and microstructure of the CNT/CF hybrid were characterized by SEM and TEM.It was found that CNTs were uniformly and densely grown onto CFs at 750-800 ℃ for 30 min.Results obtained from single fiber tests showed that the tensile strength of the CNT/CF hybrid decreased by 13% after AACVD at 750-800 ℃ for 30 min compared to that of CFs,however,the tensile degradation was less than 10% after AACVD at 750 ℃ for 5 to 40 min.The wettability of the hybrid with epoxy resin was improved compared with that of the original CFs.