Development of Carbon Nanotube/Rubber Composite Materials with Excellent High Pressure Hydrogen Characteristics

Carbon nanotubes (CNT) are a fibrous carbon material with very high aspect ratio due to having nano-size diameter and lengths of more than 1 mu m. Therefore, CNT reinforced rubber shows high electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity and strength, even though the added CNT is a small fraction only. In this research, characteristics of CNT/rubber composites exposed to high-pressure hydrogen gas are assessed. As a result, it is confirmed that both, the equilibrium hydrogen content and the volume expansion, when exposed to high-pressure hydrogen gas, are excellent after uniformly dispersing SWCNT in the rubber, better than for other CNTs. Because of these pressure hydrogen characteristics, the CNT/rubber composites in this research are expected to be useful as highly durable seal materials in a high-pressure hydrogen environment.