From Waste Plastics to Carbon Nanotube Audio Cables

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have long been at the forefront of materials research, with applications ranging from composites for increased tensile strength in construction and sports equipment to transistor switches and solar cell electrodes in energy applications. There remains untapped potential still when it comes to energy and data transmission, with our group having previously demonstrated a working ethernet cable composed of CNT fibers. Material composition, electrical resistance, and electrical capacitance all play a strong role in the making of high-quality microphone and headphone cables, and the work herein describes the formation of a proof-of-concept CNT audio cable. Testing was done compared to commercial cables, with frequency response measurements performed for further objective testing. The results show performance is on par with commercial cables, and the CNTs being grown from waste plastics as a carbon source further adds to the value proposition, while also being environmentally friendly.

Upcycling of face masks to application-rich multi- and single-walled carbon nanotubes

“…The peak at ~ 1350 cm −1 confirms a disorder D-peak which is attributed primarily to amorphous carbon [29,31], whereas the taller G-peak at ~ 1600 cm −1 is attributed to graphitic carbon, which in this case would be the CNTs themselves. The presence of a strong G' peak at ~ 2650 cm −1 combined with an I G /I D of under 1 is also indicative of multi-walled CNTs in the product, which is in line with previous work [23,24]. Likewise, we do not see radial breathing modes at 785 nm, as seen in Fig.…”

“…CNT product, as powder, was used to manufacture individual wires as described before [23,24]. In short, the CNTs were firmly packed into the sheath of heat shrink tubing and copper wire was inserted into either end followed by compression for increased CNT-Cu contact.…”

“…Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been a growing research topic and an industrial material for the better part of 30 years now, with many applications already realized in industries ranging from energy, transportation, manufacturing, construction, and even art [15][16][17][18][19]. We have previously reported the production of CNTs from paper [20] and waste plastics [21], which led to expertise in the dispersion of various plastics in organic solvents [22] that then have been demonstrated to produce electrically conductive CNTs used in the manufacturing of Ethernet cables [23] and audio cables [24]. The natural extension of this work was to use dayto-day accessible objects such as face masks as the plastic source for CNT synthesis and this work describes the results of our findings accordingly by pushing the boundaries of what could be used as a carbon source for CNT production, including single-walled carbon nanotubes.…”

Structure-oriented conversions of plastics to carbon nanomaterials

“…It is the most frequently used approach to fabricate high-quality CNTs from plastics, and is suitable for continuous fabrication, but the carbon yield is usually below 20%. Gangoli et al 2022 ; Jia et al 2022 ; Liu et al 2011 ; Tripathi et al 2017 ; Xu et al 2021b ; Yang et al 2018 ; Yao et al 2018b , Yao et al 2017 ; Zhuo et al 2010 Microwave Microwave is a rapid heating method and can effectively transform different plastics into hydrogen and CNTs in 30–90 seconds. The yields of carbon and hydrogen obtained from the microwave method can achieve 80% and 97%, respectively.…”

Chaotic forced vibration analysis of a single-walled carbon nanotube resting on elastic foundations

“…e ndings of this study were expected to improve the design of nanomechanical CNT-based devices that carry uid under various conditions. Gangoli et al, employing the nite element approach, suggested to investigate the coupled impacts of surface features and nonlocal elasticity on nanobeam vibration characteristics [34]. Furthermore, the ability of the nite element method to handle a complex geometry was demonstrated.…”