Improvement of the electrical conductivity of carbon fibers through the growth of carbon nanofibers

In this work, carbon nanofibers (CNFs) were synthesized on carbon fiber (CF) surfaces precoated with metal-doped mesoporous silica films. Fe, Ni, and Co were doped in the mesoporous silica films and played the role of catalysts for the decomposition of acetylene to grow CNFs on the CF surfaces. The chemical composition and surface structure of CFs before and after the growth of the CNFs were investigated by EDX, N ₂ full isotherms, and SEM. The electrical property of the CFs was investigated using a four-probe volume resistivity tester. The SEM results indicated that the CNFs with diameters of 20-100 nm grew uniformly and densely on the CF surfaces. The diameter and length distributions of the CNFs were found to be dependent on the metal that was doped in the mesoporous silica films. The electrical properties of the CFs were enhanced after the CNFs' growth on the CF surfaces, and the CNFs grown over the Ni catalyst with the narrowest diameter distribution gave the lowest volume resistivity to the CFs.