Electrophoretic deposition of non-conductive halloysite nanotubes onto glass fabrics with improved interlaminar properties of glass/epoxy composites

Abstract

This study achieved a homogeneous hierarchical distribution of non-conductive halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) on unidirectional glass fabrics using electrophoretic deposition (EPD). Silane modification was successfully applied to HNTs and glass fabrics. The HNTs and glass fabrics were covalently bonded by condensation polymerization between the carboxyl and amino groups during the EPD process. The HNT-grafted glass fabrics were fabricated into glass fiber-reinforced polymers (GFRPs) using vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding. These results demonstrate an effective enhancement in the through-thickness of HNT-grafted GFRPs. The enhanced mechanical properties of the hierarchically and covalently distributed HNTs were attributed to the excellent interfacial bonding and nanobridging of the HNTs.