Vapor grown carbon fiber/polyamide 6 nanofibers reinforced polylactic acid composite

The surface functionalization treatment of vapor grown carbon fiber(VGCF) and its dispersion in polymer were studied.The VGCF/polyamide 6(PA6) nanofibrous mats with different contents of VGCF were prepared by electrospinning,and then VGCF/PA6 nanofibers reinforced polylactic acid(PLA) composite was obtained by hot pressing.The results indicated that,VGCF treated with mixed acid presented a better dispersion in polymer solution when the VGCF solution was ultrasonically treated for 1 h before and after the addition of polymer.With surfactant treatment,the dispersion of the acid-treated VGCF in the polymer solution was obviously improved.With the addition of VGCF into the PA6/formic acid spinning solution,the mechanical properties of the fiber mats were improved.When the mass fraction of VGCF in the spinning solution was 0.03%,the breaking strength of VGCF/PA6 nanofibers reached the maximum value(14.68 MPa).The breaking strength of composites increased at first and then decreased with increase of the content of VGCF/PA6 nanofibers in the composites,and the peak value(25.80 MPa) appeared as the mass fraction of VGCF/PA6 nanofibers reached 7.39%.