Effect of dispersion methods for Vapor Grown Carbon Fibers (VGCF) in epoxy caused the change in mechanical properties of VGCF/epoxy nanocomposites, such as tensile modulus and tensile strength. The influence of VGCF types - atmospheric plasma treated (APT) VGCF and raw VGCF - and their contents was discussed in detail. Treating VGCF with atmospheric plasma enhanced the surface energy, therefore improved the bonding strength with epoxy matrix. Two different methods used to disperse VGCF were ultrasonic and mechanical homogenizer methods. When using dispersion solutions, the VGCF demonstrated good dispersion in ethanol in both homogenizer and ultrasonic method. The uniform dispersion of VGCF was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) which showed well-dispersion of VGCF in epoxy matrix. The tensile modulus of raw VGCF/epoxy nanocomposites obtained by ultrasonic method was higher than that of one obtained by homogenizer method. APT VGCF/epoxy nanocomposites showed higher tensile strength than that of raw VGCF/epoxy nanocomposites.

• Nguyen Quang Khuyen
• Byung-Sun Kim
• Jin-Bong Kim
• Soo Lee