Improving the mechanical properties of polycarbonate nanocomposites with plasma-modified carbon nanofibers

The mechanical properties of polycarbonate film embedded with carbon nanofibers were studied based on plasma surface modification of carbon nanofibers by the use of polystyrene. The nanofiber surfaces were modified by various processing conditions including plasma polymerization power, nanofiber concentration, and ultrasonication time. The tensile strength and Young's modulus of the carbon nanofiber-polycarbonate composites were then measured. The mechanical behavior of the composite was found to be affected by dispersion of the nanofibers. Higher plasma power resulted in improved mechanical strength. A maximum strength (10% increase) was achieved at a low concentration (1 wt.%) of nanofibers. The optimization of ultrasonication time indicated that the maximum strength occurred at different times for the composites with different concentrations of the modified carbon nanofibers.