Effect of black ink loading on the properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes/glass fibre/epoxy laminated hybrid composites

The demand for weight reduction is driven by the demand for better fuel efficiency and reduction of emissions. Polymer composites can offer lightweight benefits from 15 to 25% for glass fibre-reinforced composites in comparison to other metallic structure. Modification has been made to the fibre and polymer matrix by integrating with nanofiller, for example, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT). In the present study, commercial black ink was utilized as dispersing agent to disperse pristine MWCNT in deionized water. The MWCNT solution was applied to the 3-ply glass fibre (GF)/epoxy using spreading method. The amount of MWCNT was fixed at 1.4 vol% whereas the black ink loading was varied from 1.4 to 5.6 vol%. The results of hybrid composites (3-ply MWCNT/GF/epoxy) were compared with 3-ply and 4-py GF/epoxy laminated composites (3GF and 4GF). It was found that about 100 and 14% improvement in flexural strength and modulus were observed for hybrid composites compared to 4GF, respectively. The storage modulus also increased up to 50% compared to 4GF. The superior properties of hybrid composites was attributed to the less MWCNT agglomerations occur during the fabrication process hence results in a good dispersion of MWCNT fillers on the fibres. This indicates that addition of MWCNT in the glass fibre laminates with the aid of black ink is able to reduce the number of glass fibre laminate and hence reduce the weight of the composite structure.