Carbon Nanotube Composites to Enhance Thermal and Electrical Properties for Space Applications - A Review

Abstract

High specific stiffness materials are used to design the space payload components. These components should sustain the extreme environmental conditions throughout their life cycle, without failure. Space missions need lightweight materials which are mechanically strong with high thermal and electric conductivities. Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) offers considerable mass saving and high strength, which is widely used for space payload components. However, it has limitations to replace the traditional space-qualified materials due to its low conductivity. Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) are efficient with greater electrical and thermal conductivities. For CNTs to be seen as effective reinforcements for attaining high strength and conductivity of polymer composites, they need to meet the criteria of being well-dispersed by the solution mixing method. The quality of the CNT nanocomposite relies upon several parameters like the type of CNTs, purity, aspect ratio, amount of loading, alignment and interfacial adhesion between the nanotube and polymer. The performance of the CNT-CFRP composite depends on the successful execution of the processing technique. It has been intended in this review paper to highlight the enhancement of the mechanical, thermal and electrical properties of the composite, and the challenges in achieving it. An attempt has been made to optimize the process parameters to fabricate space payload components which can be excellent alternatives to the existing high-density materials. Moreover, this review research is the need of the hour for prominent space agencies such as ISRO and NASA for their future inter-planetary missions, where payload weight needs to be kept light without making any compromise on the performance index.

Carbon nanomaterials‐based electrically conductive scaffolds for tissue engineering applications

“…The versatility of carbon nanomaterials extends across a spectrum of sizes and forms, allowing for precise tailoring of their physicochemical characteristics. Carbon and carbon‐based materials feature unique mechanical, electrical, thermal, tribological, and biological properties, which yielded their usage in a wide range of applications, from biotechnology 16 to space technology 17 and from energy applications 18 to quantum devices 19 . They have also demonstrated remarkable versatility in the biomedical field, contributing to advancements in drug delivery, imaging, diagnostics, and biosensing 20–24 .…”