Preparation and Mechanical Properties of Graphene/Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Hierarchical Polymer Composites

Abstract

Conventional carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP) have extensively been used as structural elements in a myriad of sectors due to their superior mechanical properties, low weight and ease of processing. However, the relatively weak compression and interlaminar properties of these composites limit their applications. Interest is, therefore, growing in the development of hierarchical or multiscale composites, in which, a nanoscale filler reinforcement is utilized to alleviate the existing limitations associated with the matrix-dominated properties. In this work, the fabrication and characterization of hierarchical composites are analyzed through the inclusion of graphene to conventional CFRP by vacuum-assisted resin infusion molding.