Application of Carbon Nanotubes to Nylon Composite

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have many interesting mechanical properties. Therefore, it is expected that an excellent characteristic can be demonstrated by small addition of CNTs in various composite materials. In this study, nylon-6 (N6) was used as the base material and CNTs were mixed to it as a reinforcing agent. Three kinds of CNT were used as filler. Single-wall nanotubes (SWNTs) produced by arc plasma jet (APJ) method, SWNTs produced by ferrum-hydrogen arc (FHA) method, and multiwalled nanotubes (MWNTs) produced by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Mechanical properties of the composites were measured by tension test, bending test and impact test. In general, when tensile or bending strength goes high, the value of impact energy falls. However, in the case of APJ-SWNT mixing in N6, the impact energy also increases together with the tensile and bending strengths. This study, thus, suggests that APJ-SWNT possesses a characteristic due to which the composite material is strengthened without losing its toughness. # 2011 The Japan Society of Applied Physics