Effect of Ni-coated short carbon fibers on the mechanical and electrical properties of epoxy composites

Ni-coated short carbon fibers (Ni-SCFs) were prepared using an electrodeposition method. Short carbon fiber (SCF) reinforced epoxy composites were prepared by changing the fiber content (0.1-0.7 wt%). To investigate the effect of Ni-coated short carbon fibers on the mechanical and electrical properties of the composites, we prepared two kinds of reinforcements: the short carbon fibers treated by 400 A degrees C (400 A degrees C treated SCFs) and Ni-SCFs. Fracture characteristics of the composites revealed the Ni coatings and the epoxy matrix had a better interface, so that the results of tensile and bending strength were better in epoxy/Ni-SCFs composites than those in epoxy/400 A degrees C treated SCFs composites. The 400 A degrees C treated SCFs decreased the electrical resistivity of the epoxy composites, compared to the pure epoxy. However the epoxy/Ni-SCFs composites had lower electrical resistivity than epoxy/400 A degrees C treated SCFs with the same fiber content.