Multifunctional Next Generation Carbon Nanotube Super Fibers

摘要

The goal of this program was to produce continuous strong CNT-based fibers. The production of continuous fibers was met and we have matched 2/3 of the strength of what has been previously reported with CNT-PAN fibers. We believe that with additional spinning process optimization we can increase the resultant fiber strength. All of the mechanical data shown (below) was generated from a non-optimized spinning process. This preliminary data generated from just the first fiber run shows promising results. The SWNT-PAN fibers obtained using our Set up have a tensile strength of 238 MPa at 300% draw ratio. The produced fibers have very uniform diameter (see SEM images) so the mechanical properties are uniform across the length of the fiber. As a comparison to our initial data Satish Kumar was able to produce SWNT-PAN fibers using 5wt% of SWNT with a tensile strength of 360 MPa at 460% draw ratio. We have started to optimize the spinning process and the other parameters to improve the overall mechanical properties of the fibers.