Yarn‐Like Carbon Nanotube Fibers

Abstract

A fiber made of carbon nanotubes is shown to resemble a conventional yarn in terms of its structure, composed of discrete fibrillar sub‐units, and its properties, such as high flexibility in bending, cutting resistance and 100% knot efficiency. Its combination of yarn‐like character and tensile properties in the high‐performance range make this CNT fiber an exceptional new material.

Aligned carbon nanotube–epoxy composites: the effect of nanotube organization on strength, stiffness, and toughness

“…Moreover, unlike the conventional carbon fibres, CNT fibres can be bent through very tight radii without apparent permanent damage, and can show excellent knot efficiency, as has been shown previously [4]. It means that in handling, there are no surface damage issues, and, moreover, it reveals the radically different fracture mechanism, discussed in the following section, suggests that the composites should be much more resistant to the propagation of transverse cracks or defects.…”

“…They are highly elongated and interconnected with the result that the resin penetrates the condensed fibres and fills the voids [12,13]. The interconnected voids are also confirmed by the specific surface area of the fibre which can be up to 200 m 2 /g depending on the synthesis conditions [4,13,14]. The oriented CNT mat comprises a far less dense network of laterally entangled aligned nanotube bundles (Fig.…”

“…In comparison with carbon fibre production, which relies on the special grades of polymer precursors and requires several technological steps, including high-temperature treatment at up to 3000°C in the inert atmosphere 3,4 ; synthesis of CNT fibres by this one-step process is more favorable in terms of energy and time consumption and related costs. The required synthesis temperature (1300°C) is similar to that of the conventional carbon black, 5 which is one of the cheapest products produced in millions of tons and used in industry worldwide.…”

“…Assembling of CNT into fibrous materials has been successfully realized through a range of methods, including wet-spinning technique [1], spinning from their liquid crystalline solutions [2], spinning from dry arrays [3], or direct spinning from the gas phase during the floating catalyst CVD synthesis, as described elsewhere [4,5]. High-performance carbon nanotube fibres (CNTF) possess high thermal conductivity and outstanding electrical conductivity able to compete with metals [1,6], and thus they have been recognized as promising materials for cost-effective electronics and electrical wiring [7].…”

Carbon Nanotube Mass Production: Principles and Processes

“…[189] S-/DWCNT growth needs not only good dispersion of the active metal components on the catalyst support and a suitably large BET surface area, but also a proper catalyst structure. Any factor that can enlarge the pore size or reduce the strength of the catalyst (including the direct formation of large pores in a catalyst by a template, controlled critical drying of the catalyst, [85] minimizing catalyst support size, [190,191] aerosol catalyst, [67,192,193] or direct spray drying of the catalyst into very fine powders [194] ) can provide a catalyst with a low bulk density and weak interaction in the agglomerates that will meet the requirements for ). [189] Recently, Nie et al reported that an ethanol-thermal treatment was effective for increasing the percentage of very large pores in the porous catalyst structure, and can be used for the growth of very high quality SWCNTs with much fewer defects.…”