A new graphene-fullerene composite (rGO-pyrene-PCBM), in which [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) was attached onto reduced graphene oxide (rGO) via the noncovalent functionalization approach, was reported. The pyrene-PCBM moiety was synthesized via a facile esterification reaction, and pyrene was used as an anchoring bridge to link rGO and PCBM components. FTIR, UV-vis, and XPS spectroscopic characterizations were carried out to confirm the hybrid structure of rGO-pyrene-PCBM, and the composite formation is found to improve greatly the dispersity of rGO in DMF. The geometric configuration of rGO-pyrene-PCBM was studied by Raman, SEM, and AFM analyses, suggesting that the C60 moiety is far from the graphene sheet and is bridged with the graphene sheet via the pyrene anchor. Finally rGO-pyrene-PCBM was successfully applied as electron extraction layer for P3HT:PCBM bulk heterojunction polymer solar cell (BHJ-PSC) devices, affording a PCE of 3.89%, which is enhanced by ca. 15% compared to that of the reference device without electron extraction layer (3.39%). Contrarily, the comparative devices incorporating the rGO or pyrene-PCBM component as electron extraction layer showed dramatically decreased PCE, indicating the importance of composite formation between rGO and pyrene-PCBM components for its electron extraction property.

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Carbon nanotube (CNT) films are well known for their ultra-low density, high porosity, tunable conductivity and a number of other desirable characteristics. Integrating CNT films into composite materials would endow these structural materials with multifunctionality while adding only negligibly to their weight. This review introduces the fabrication of CNT films and presents the state-of-the-art research advances of CNT-film-enabled functions of composite materials, such as resistive heating, lightning strike protection, electromagnetic interference shielding, and structural health monitoring. Future research on CNT-film-based multifunctional composite materials is also discussed.

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Realizing the full potential of advanced fiber reinforced polymeric composites has been impeded by their weak interlaminar performance. Herein, a wholethrough-thickness stitching strategy was proposed to address this key challenge by using ultrathin, high performance aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) composite belts as stitching sutures. During the fabrication of aligned CNT composite belts, the as-made CNT belts that consist of randomly orientated CNTs were firstly stretched before resin infiltration. It has been found that the tensile strength and modulus of aligned CNT composite belts reached 1126.9 MPa and 56.2 GPa, with an improvement of 227.9% and 726.5% than those of unstretched composite belts, respectively. After stitching, the Mode I interlaminar fracture toughness and through-thickness electrical conductivity of carbon fiber reinforced laminated composites was enhanced by 138.7% and 426.7%, respectively, which was mainly due to the bridging effect of strong and conducting CNT belts. In addition, the interlaminar crack propagations can be in situ monitored by tracking the resistance variation of the stitched laminates under loading. Thus, this stitching strategy provides an effective approach to not only enhance the structural performance of fiber reinforced polymeric composites, but also enrich their functionalities.

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