Experimental investigation of dispersion during flow of multi-walled carbon nanotube/polymer suspension in fibrous porous media

We prepared three types of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNT)/vinyl ester resin suspensions with different degrees of initial MWNT dispersion. Each suspension was injected into a mold cavity to saturate a stationary random glass fiber preform. High shear rates were not encountered in the non-uniform porous media. The quality of dispersion of the MWNT caused by the interaction between the MWNT with glass fiber media was characterized by examining the sections of the cured composites using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The results revealed that the final MWNT/Glass fiber structure is a strong function of the initial state of the MWNT dispersion in the suspension and the porous media structure. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.