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6CCVD Research

Multifaceted Hybrid Carbon Fibers - Applications in Renewables, Sensing and Tissue Engineering

At a Glance

Section titled “At a Glance”
MetadataDetails
Publication Date2020-08-16
JournalJournal of Composites Science
AuthorsChandreyee Manas Das, Lixing Kang, Guang Yang, Dan Tian, Ken‐Tye Yong
InstitutionsNanyang Technological University, Nanjing Forestry University
Citations8
AnalysisFull AI Review Included

Executive Summary

Section titled “Executive Summary”

This review details the development and application of multifaceted hybrid Carbon Fibers (CF) and Carbon Nanofibers (CNF) across renewables, sensing, and tissue engineering. These hybrid systems leverage the intrinsic high tensile strength, electrical conductivity, and thermal stability of carbon materials, often resulting in enhanced device performance and reduced manufacturing costs.

  • Enhanced Composite Performance: Minute additions of CNF significantly boost the mechanical properties of matrices, achieving up to 90% enhancement in shear strength and 78% increase in fracture resistance in epoxy composites.
  • Renewable Energy Efficiency: Hybrid CF/CNF materials serve as high-performance, low-cost electrodes in energy devices, achieving high specific capacitance (up to 476 F g-1 in supercapacitors) and high conversion efficiencies (up to 8.97% in DSSCs).
  • Advanced Battery Systems: CNF hybridization addresses critical issues in next-generation batteries, such as mitigating volume expansion in Silicon anodes for LIBs and enhancing capacity retention (92.5% retention after 8000 cycles in NiHCF supercapacitors).
  • High-Sensitivity Sensing: Functionalized CF/CNF electrodes provide increased surface area and active sites, enabling ultra-trace detection limits (e.g., 0.005 fg mL-1 for cortisol) and high sensitivity for gases (H2, NO, CO) and biomolecules (glucose, DNA).
  • Biocompatible Implants: CF-based composites (e.g., CF:PEEK, HA/PA/CF) are utilized for medical implants, offering superior mechanical strength, biocompatibility, and reduced radiation attenuation compared to traditional metallic or glass fiber materials.
  • Cost-Effective Alternatives: CNFs are highlighted as a more economical alternative to Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs) and are used to replace expensive Platinum (Pt) catalysts in solar cells and fuel cells.

Technical Specifications

Section titled “Technical Specifications”
ParameterValueUnitContext
CNF Addition (Epoxy)0.5 wt%-Fracture resistance enhancement
Fracture Resistance Enhancement66%%Epoxy composite (0.5 wt% CNF)
Tensile Strength Enhancement49%%Thermal-plastic polyurethane (4.0 wt% CNF)
BNNP-CNT-Epoxy/CF Shear Strength90%%Enhancement vs. plain CF/Epoxy
SIB Charge Capacity (MoS2@CNF)198 mA h g-1-After 500 cycles at 1 A g-1
LOB Charge Capacity (Co/CNF)4583 mA h g-1-At 100 mA g-1 current density
Supercapacitor Capacitance (NiHCF-NCs/CF)476 F g-1-At 0.2 A g-1 current density
Supercapacitor Retention (NiHCF-NCs/CF)92.5%%After 8000 charge/discharge cycles
DSSC Efficiency (Pt/CF)8.97%%Highest reported efficiency in review
DSSC Jsc (Pt/CF)15.52 mA cm-2-Short-circuit current density
DSSC Efficiency (CoNi2S4 nanoribbon-CF)7.03%%Platinum-free counter electrode
Glucose Sensor Sensitivity (β-MnO2/CF)1650.6 ¾A mM-1 cm-2-Enzymeless glucose sensing
Cortisol Sensor Detection Limit (Fe2O3/CCY)0.005 fg mL-1-Wearable sweat sensor
DNA Biosensor Sensitivity (CF/MB)0.19 mA ÂľM-1-Methylene Blue indicator
Soil MFC Internal Resistance Reduction58%%Carbon fiber enhanced bioelectricity generation
CNF Diameter (Electrospun)10-20 nmnm3D CNF scaffolds for tissue engineering
CF/PEEK Young’s Modulus48.5 GPaGPaBipolar plate composite

Key Methodologies

Section titled “Key Methodologies”

The fabrication of hybrid CF and CNF materials relies on precise control over precursor selection, thermal processing, and surface functionalization techniques:

  1. Carbon Nanofiber (CNF) Synthesis:

    • Catalytic Thermal Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD): Utilizes metal catalysts (Iron, Nickel, Cobalt) and carbon sources (Methane, Ethyne) at high temperatures (700 K to 1200 K) to produce cup-stacked or platelet CNFs.
    • Electrospinning and Carbonization: Polymer precursors (e.g., Polyacrylonitrile (PAN), Polyimides (PIs), Phenolic resin) are electrospun into nanofibers, followed by heat treatment to carbonize the polymer and control shape, porosity, and diameter.

  2. Surface and Interfacial Modification:

    • Chemical Functionalization: CF surfaces are treated (e.g., with poly methacrylic acid, PMAA) to create strong hydrogen bonds with the matrix (epoxy resin), significantly improving Interlaminar Shear Strength (ILSS).
    • Nanoparticle Decoration: CFs are decorated with nanoparticles (e.g., MgO, nano Zirconia, Pt NPs) to enhance specific properties, such as quenching electrical conductivity (MgO) or improving ablative performance (Zirconia).

  3. Hybrid Composite Fabrication:

    • Filler Incorporation: CNFs, MWCNTs, or nano-clays are blended into matrices (thermoplastics, thermosets, elastomers) to form conductive networks via the tunneling effect, enhancing electrical and thermal conductivity.
    • Core-Sheath Structuring: Used for high-performance electrodes, such as CNT cores wrapped in Gold Nanoribbons (GNRs) to expose atomic edges for high electrocatalytic activity in DSSCs.
    • Hydrothermal/Electrodeposition: Used to grow active materials (e.g., MoS2, NiHCF nanocubes, β-MnO2 nanorods) directly onto CF substrates to create hierarchical structures for supercapacitors and sensors.

  4. Scaffold Generation for Tissue Engineering:

    • Electrospinning of Precursors: PAN/hydroxyapatite (HAp) solutions are electrospun, followed by modification, to create biocompatible CNF scaffolds for bone tissue regeneration.

Commercial Applications

Section titled “Commercial Applications”

The unique combination of mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties in hybrid CF/CNF systems makes them suitable for high-performance, specialized engineering markets.

  • Aerospace and Transportation:
    • Lightweight, High-Strength Composites: CF-reinforced polymers used in structural components requiring superior tensile and compressive strengths.
    • Thermal Protection Systems (TPS): Nano Zirconia modified CF composites used as ablative materials in spacecraft due to outstanding thermal stability.
  • Advanced Energy Devices:
    • High-Density Batteries: Anode materials for Lithium-ion (LIB) and Sodium-ion (SIB) batteries, offering high capacity retention and mitigating volume expansion issues.
    • Supercapacitors: Flexible, high-capacitance electrodes for wearable electronics and smart devices.
    • Catalysis: Low-cost, high-activity cathode catalysts (Ni-Cd CNFs) for fuel cells (e.g., urea fuel cells) and Pt-free counter electrodes for DSSCs.
  • Structural Monitoring and Safety:
    • Self-Diagnosis Composites: CF-based polymer composites used in civil and mechanical structures for real-time monitoring of microcrack initiation via electrical conductivity changes.
  • Biomedical and Surgical Implants:
    • Orthopedic and Dental Implants: CF/PEEK composites used for bone implants, offering high strength and reduced radiation attenuation during therapy.
    • Regenerative Medicine: 3D CNF scaffolds functionalized with stem cells for repairing tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and bone tissue.
  • Environmental and Chemical Sensing:
    • Gas Detection: Chemoresistive sensors for industrial and environmental monitoring of gases like Hydrogen, NO, and CO.
    • Biosensors and Diagnostics: Highly sensitive electrochemical sensors for clinical and diagnostic applications, including sweat cortisol, glucose, and DNA hybridization detection.
View Original Abstract

The field of material science is continually evolving with first-class discoveries of new nanomaterials. The element carbon is ubiquitous in nature. Due to its valency, it can exist in various forms, also known as allotropes, like diamond, graphite, one-dimensional (1D) carbon nanotube (CNT), carbon fiber (CF) and two-dimensional (2D) graphene. Carbon nano fiber (CNF) is another such material that falls within the category of CF. With much smaller diameters (around hundreds of nanometers) and lengths in microns, CNFs have higher aspect (length to diameter) ratios than CNTs. Because of their unique properties like high electrical and thermal conductivity, CNFs can be applied to many matrices like elastomers, thermoplastics, ceramics and metals. Owing to their outstanding mechanical properties, they can be used as reinforcements that can enhance the tensile and compressive strain limits of the base material. Thus, in this short review, we take a look into the dexterous characteristics of CF and CNF, where they have been hybridized with different materials, and delve deeply into some of the recent applications and advancements of these hybrid fiber systems in the fields of sensing, tissue engineering and modification of renewable devices since favorable mechanical and electrical properties of the CFs and CNFs like high tensile strength and electrical conductivity lead to enhanced device performance.

Tech Support

Section titled “Tech Support”

Original Source

Section titled “Original Source”

References

Section titled “References”
  1. 2014 - Carbon nanofibers and their composites: A Review of synthesizing, properties and applications [Crossref]
  2. 2018 - advanced carbon fibre composites via poly methacrylic acid surface treatment; surface analysis and mechanical properties investigation [Crossref]
  3. 2013 - Desirable electrical and mechanical properties of continuous hybrid nano-scale carbon fibers containing highly aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes [Crossref]
  4. 2015 - Effects of nano-sized and micro-sized carbon fibers on the interlaminar shear strength and tribological properties of high strength glass fabric/phenolic laminate in water environment [Crossref]
  5. 2015 - Enhancement of flexural and shear properties of carbon fiber/epoxy hybrid nanocomposites by boron nitride nano particles and carbon nano tube modification [Crossref]
  6. 2013 - Highly aligned polyacrylonitrile-based nano-scale carbon fibres with homogeneous structure and desirable properties [Crossref]
  7. 2015 - Mechanical and thermal properties of carbon fiber/polypropylene composite filled with nano-clay [Crossref]
  8. 2015 - Mechanical properties and cytocompatibility of carbon fibre reinforced nano-hydroxyapatite/polyamide66 ternary biocomposite [Crossref]
  9. 2017 - Mgo nanoparticles-decorated carbon fibers hybrid for improving thermal conductive and electrical insulating properties of nylon 6 composite [Crossref]
  10. 2015 - Modified nano-magnetite coated carbon fibers magnetic and microwave properties [Crossref]

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