Changes to Electrical Conductivity of Irradiated Carbon Nanocomposites

Carbon nanotubes (CNT) and carbon nanofibers (CNF) are two nanoparticles incorporated in a polymer to create a composite material. These composites are two potential lightweight materials for use as replacements for aluminum structures on satellite systems. Both composite materials have a low resistivity that is consistent with conductive materials. However, the CNT composite is substantially more conductive than the CNF composite. The CNT and CNF composites were irradiated with electrons and neutrons to fluence levels of and. No changes were observed in the resistivity of the CNF composites following neutron and electron irradiation. A 3.7% increase in resistivity was observed for the CNT composite following neutron irradiation and a 25.5% increase in resistivity following electron irradiation. An additional electron irradiation was conducted on both composites to a fluence of. Again, no change in resistivity was observed in the CNF composites, while an 8.1% increase in resistivity was observed in the CNT composite. In addition, the CNT composite resistivity recovered after 240 hours while at room temperature. An additional neutron irradiation was conducted on both composites to a fluence to 4. No change in the resistivity was observed in the CNF composite, while a steady increase in resistivity was observed in the CNT composites as a function of neutron dose.