Enhanced tensile strength and electrical conductivity of electrospun polyacrylonitrile Yarns via post‐treatment

Abstract

In this study, electrically conductive polyacrylonitrile (PAN) yarn structures functionalized with multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were obtained in one single step using modified electrospinning setup. Typically, to obtain fiber yarns, the fibers are directly deposited on the surface of the water and drawn out using a mechanical roller. In our setup, the water bath was replaced with an aqueous dispersion of MWNTs. The PAN fibers were drawn out of the MWNT dispersion bath and were found to have MWNTs non‐covalently coated on their surfaces. The electrical conductivity of these fibers were measured to be 0.28 S/m. Known amount of dimethyl formamide was also added to the aqueous dispersion of MWNTs to improve fiber density and fiber‐to‐fiber interaction within the yarns. A mechanical drawing process was later applied at temperature above PAN's glass transition temperature to strengthen and stiffen the yarn structures. The tensile strength and modulus increased with the drawing ratio and was seen to improve by 600 and 690%, respectively. POLYM. COMPOS., 40:1702–1707, 2019. © 2018 Society of Plastics Engineers

Emerging Developments in the Use of Electrospun Fibers and Membranes for Protective Clothing Applications

“…Over the past decade, researchers have modified the electrospinning setup to produce nanofiber yarns or linear nanofiber assemblies. For example, we have modified the electrospinning setup to collect linear nanofiber assemblies [21,22]. The schematic of the modified electrospinning setup used to collect linear nanofiber assemblies is shown in Figure 1.…”

Tensile Properties of Composite Reinforced with Three-Dimensional Printed Fibers

“…The high draw ratio and elongation experienced by the fibers during the electrospinning process aligns the molecular chains along the fiber axis. This explains why electrospun fibers can display enhanced mechanical strength and stiffness compared its bulk counterparts [8][9][10][11]. These attributes of electrospun fibers make them suitable candidates as reinforcements in composites [6].…”

The Impact of Shear and Elongational Forces on Structural Formation of Polyacrylonitrile/Carbon Nanotubes Composite Fibers during Wet Spinning Process

“…Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have numerous applications due to their extraordinary properties, among which production of composite fibers based on polymer/CNT with ability to improve physical, mechanical, thermal, electrical and sound absorption properties can be noted [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]. Production of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/CNT composite fibers with potential to be used as carbon fiber precursor and to improve mechanical properties of carbon fibers has attracted attention in recent years [6,10,11,12,13].…”