Synergistic Effects of Graphene/Carbon Nanotubes Hybrid Coating on the Interfacial and Mechanical Properties of Fiber Composites

In this study, the graphene nanoplates (GnPs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are simultaneous deposited on carbon fiber (CF) surface by fiber sizing method. The synergistic effect between GnPs and CNTs in increasing the interfacial and mechanical properties of carbon fiber reinforcement epoxy composites (CFRP) is investigated. The fracture surfaces of the CFRP composites indicated that GnPs/CNTs hybrid coating exhibited the best interfacial and mechanical performance in all coating sample. The interlaminar shear strength of GnPs/CNTs hybrid coated CFRP composites was 90% higher than non-coated CF composites. The flexural and tensile strength of CFRP composites with GnPs/CNTs hybrid coating have an improvement of 52% and 70%, respectively, compared to non-coated CF.