Growth of carbon nanotubes on the surface of carbon fiber using Fe–Ni bimetallic catalyst at low temperature

Abstract This article provides a method for growing carbon nanotubes(CNTs) on carbon fibers(CFs) using iron and nickel as catalysts at low temperatures. This series of experiments was conducted in a vacuum chemical vapor deposition(CVD)furnace. It is found that Fe–Ni catalysts, which have a certain thickness and can be better combined with resins when manufacturing composite materials, are more ideal for the growth of CNTs than single metal catalysts. At the same time, it is proved that the CVD process worked best at 450 °C. The mechanical property test proved the reinforcing effect of CNTs on carbon fiber, the single-filament tensile strength of CFs obtained by using Fe–Ni catalyst at 450 °C was 11% higher than that of Desized CFs. The bonding strength of carbon fiber and resin has also been significantly improved. When synthesized at low temperature, CNTs exhibited a hollow multi-wall structure.