Electrical Properties of CNF/Polymer Composites

Abstract

The electrical properties of carbon nanofiber (CNF) reinforced epoxy matrix nanocomposites are summarized in this chapter. The effect of CNF weight fraction on the conductivity, impedance, and dielectric constant is considered. The results show that the impedance decreases and the dielectric constant increases with increasing CNF content in the composites. Nanocomposites containing 10 wt% CNFs showed significantly higher dielectric constant because of the presence of a continuous network of CNFs in the composite. The resistance, capacitance, and dielectric constants of the neat resin are found to be lower at the test frequency of 105 Hz compared to the values measured at 1 Hz. The dielectric constant of CNF/epoxy composites increases monotonically from 12.4 to 16.1 with increasing CNF content from 1 to 10 wt%.