EVALUATION OF ELECTROPHORETIC DEPOSITION OF MULTI-WALLED CARBON NANOTUBES ONTO CARBON FIBER

The Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composite (FRPC) has been used widely in the structural application, however, the incorporation of nanoparticle such as multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) can be utilized to further enhance the mechanical properties of the composites. The aim of this study is to compare the stability of MWCNT in distilled water (DW) and Dimethylformamide (DMF). The chosen incorporation method of deposition of MWCNT onto carbon fiber (CF) were electrophoretic deposition (EPD) due to the advantages of simple apparatus, short function time and low cost. Therefore, the effect of voltages and time were studied to obtain the optimal condition for deposition of MWCNT into CF. The stability of dispersed MWCNT in different types of medium were studied as the importance of the MWCNT to stay stable in the medium is required to attain homogeneous deposition. The UV-vis and colloidal stability test showed that DMF has better stability than DW in the long run. Scanning Electrode Microscopy (SEM) images showed that the best condition for the deposition of MWCNT onto CF were to be deposition time of 10 mins and applied voltage of 20 V. Therefore, the MWCNT dispersed in DW is still valid to be used as dispersing medium for EPD process as the time required for depositing MWCNT onto CF is short and the colloidal suspension is still stable within the time frame