Enhanced thermal conductivity of carbon fiber/phenolic resin composites by the introduction of carbon nanotubes

The authors report a significant enhancement in the thermal conductivity of a conventional carbon fiber/phenolic resin composite system when adding highly crystalline multiwalled carbon nanotubes. They demonstrate that 7wt% of carbon nanotubes dispersed homogeneously in a phenolic resin acted as an effective thermal bridge between adjacent carbon fibers and resulted in an enhancement of the thermal conductivity (e.g., from 250to393W∕mK). These results indicate that highly crystalline carbon nanotubes can be used as a multifunctional filler to enhance simultaneously the mechanical and thermal properties of the carbon fiber/phenolic resin composites.