Co-authors​ :

 Mohd SHADAB ANSARI (INDIA), Sunny ZAFAR , Himanshu PATHAK  

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite has gained the interest of researchers worldwide due to its exceptional mechanical properties compared to conventional materials like steel, iron, etc. Carbon fiber (CF) possesses mechanical properties like high specific modulus, high strength-to-weight ratio, high stiffness, etc. The CFRP composites have been extensively used in the automobile, aerospace, and energy sectors in the manufacturing of different components. The CFRP is presently being used to make engine blades in aerospace sector, blades of the wind turbine and shell of the electric vehicle. Despite being a strategic material, the CFRP has many drawbacks and limitations. The CFRP is often prone to fiber/matrix debonding, delamination due to its limited damage resistance capabilities. Secondly, the surface of the CF is chemically inert, and this also promotes poor interfacial bonding of the CF with the matrix. Reinforcing nano-material between the subsequent CF layers is one of the techniques to improve the interfacial bonding between the CF and matrix. The carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were considered to be the most appropriate nano-material for reinforcing. The CNTs were allotropes of carbon with a one-dimensional structure arranged hexagonally in a cylindrical shape. The CNTs are classified as single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT). The CNTs possess mechanical properties like high elastic modulus, high tensile strength, low density, and a high aspect ratio. However, attaching CNTs to the CF surface is a challenge. Researchers have reported many methods, like direct CNT growth by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), chemically grafting CNTs, and spray coating CNTs over the surface of the CF. These CNT grafting or attaching techniques were expensive, complex, time-consuming, and led to agglomeration of the CNTs. Recently, microwave heating has been popularly used in surface engineering. The selective and volumetric heating in the microwave provides rapid heating of the specimen. In the present research work, the CNTs will be directly grown on the CF surface using microwave irradiation. The CNTs were grown at 180 W, 360 W, 540 W, 720 W, and 900 W, respectively, different microwave power for 25 s. The CNT-grown CF will be characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) to investigate how dense the CNT forest has grown at different microwave power levels. The CNT-grown CF will be subjected to a microbond test to investigate the interfacial bonding between the CNT-grown CF and the matrix.