Processing, structure, and properties of fibers from polyester/carbon nanofiber composites

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) resin has been compounded with carbon nanofibers. The amount of carbon nanofibers utilized in each case was 5 wt.%. Compounding methods included ball-milling, high shear mixing in the melt, as well as extrusion using a twin-screw extruder. PET/CNF composite resins were melt-spun into fibers using the conventional PET fiber spinning conditions. Morphology and mechanical properties of these composite fibers have been studied. The results show that CNFs can be incorporated into PET matrix with good dispersion. Compressive strength and torsional moduli of PET/CNF composite fibers were considerably higher than that for the control PET fiber.