Synergetic improvement of the thermal conductivity and interlaminar fracture toughness of carbon fiber/epoxy composites by interleaving BN@ZnO particles

Abstract Synergetic improvement of the thermal conductivity and interlaminar fracture toughness of carbon fiber/epoxy resin composites (CF/EP) is a challenging research job. In this work, hexagonal boron nitride coated ZnO (BN@ZnO) particles were firstly prepared by sol–gel method and BN@ZnO composite laminates were manufactured by mold pressing process. X‐ray diffraction, x‐ray electron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to analyze the structure, chemical components and morphology of the BN@ZnO and composite laminates. The effects of BN@ZnO on the impact strength, model II interlaminar fracture toughness ( G IIC ) and thermal conductivity of composite laminates are investigated. The results show that the interlaminar fracture toughness and thermal conductivity of composite laminates are synergistically enhanced owing to the introduction of hybrid fillers with different dimensions and morphology. The thermal conductivity of the 10 wt% BN@ZnO coated composite laminates is increased by 78% and 90% at 25 and 100°C, respectively. The mechanical properties of composite laminates are enhanced. The model II interlaminar fracture toughness of 2 wt% BN@ZnO composite laminates is 15.4% higher than pure laminate. This work is of significance to realize the structural and functional integration of composite materials.