Effect of Different Dielectric and Magnetic Nanoparticles on the Electrical, Mechanical, and Thermal Properties of Unidirectional Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Composites

Carbon fiber-reinforced particulate composites are immensely used in commercial and military applications due to their excellent functional and mechanical performance. Several studies have been reported to use nanofiller in carbon fiber-reinforced composites to improve their functional and mechanical performance. However, a comparative study was required to depict the best dielectric and magnetic nanofillers with excellent functional and mechanical performance. The current research was performed to compare the effect of different dielectric and magnetic nanoparticles on the electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties of carbon fiber-reinforced composites. The objective was to identify a nanofiller with excellent electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties with the same weight ratio and a potential candidate for EMI shielding application. Unidirectional composite prepregs containing 2% (by weight) of each magnetic and dielectric nanofillers were fabricated on an in-house developed lab-scale UD prepreg manufacturing setup. Among the dielectric nanofillers, the composite samples containing MWCNT nanofiller showed the highest electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties. The composite samples containing titanium oxide nanofillers showed better flexural, electrical, and thermal properties among magnetic nanofillers.