Toho Tenax, the core company of the Teijin Group’s carbon fibres and composites business, has produced a new high-tensile, highly shock-resistant prepreg that incorporates carbon fibre developed by Toho Tenax for aerospace applications and specialised carbon nanotubes (CNT). A prepreg is a carbon fibre sheet pre-impregnated with matrix resin.

A prepreg is used as an intermediate material for carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP). Toho Tenax’s new hybrid prepreg has been adopted by Mizuno Corporation in a new golf club shaft that weighs nearly 30 per cent less than conventional shafts of the same thickness. The high-tensile prepreg enables the shaft to bend suitably as the ball is impacted and then cuts the shock of impact by more than 10 per cent to reduce club movement on the follow-through swing.

The surface of the CNT is specially treated and its structural elements disperse equally when Toho Tenax’s carbon fibre is impregnated with matrix resin containing the CNT. The hybrid combination of carbon fibre and CNT realises a superior CFRP that offers improved tensile strength and shock resistance. The CFRP also is extra durable because the carbon fibre and matrix resin do not peel away from each other thanks to the CNT’s balanced dispersion.

The Teijin Group is accelerating its development of its new high-tensile, highly shock-resistant prepreg for high-end applications in the sports, leisure and aircraft fields, where weight reduction and high functionality are especially critical. Teijin also is strengthening its capabilities to provide solutions for diverse global businesses, from upstream to downstream.

Since CFRP is used in fields ranging from aircraft and automobiles to infrastructure and leisure, its prescribed properties must differ widely depending on the application. To address these specific demands, Teijin is developing technology for various combinations of carbon fibre and matrix resin and for specific processing needs. (SV)