Ultrastrong, Stiff and Multifunctional Carbon Nanotube Composites

Journal Article · Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2012 · Materials Research Letters

OSTI ID:1087453

Wang, Xin ^[1]; Yong, Zhenzhong ^[2]; Li, Qingwen ^[2]; Bradford, Philip D. ^[1]; Liu, Wei ^[3]; Tucker, Dennis S. ^[4]; Cai, Wei ^[5]; Wang, Hsin ^[5]; Yuan, Fuh-Gwo ^[1]; Zhu, Yuntian ^[1]

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1. North Carolina State University
2. Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics
3. Donghua University, Shanghai, China
4. Tucker Technical Solutions
5. ORNL

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are an order of magnitude stronger than any current engineering fiber. However, for the past two decades it has been a challenge to utilize their reinforcement potential in composites. Here we report CNT composites with unprecedented multifunctionalities, including record high strength (3.8 GPa), Young s modulus (293 GPa), electrical conductivity (1230 S cm-1) and thermal conductivity (41 W m-1 K-1). These superior properties are derived from the long length, high volume fraction, good alignment and reduced waviness of the CNTs, which were produced by a novel processing approach that can be easily scaled up for industrial production.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). High Temperature Materials Lab. (HTML)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
• DOE Contract Number: DE-AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1087453
• Journal Information: Materials Research Letters, Vol. 1, Issue 1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

Carbon Nanotubes
Stretch winding
Strength
Stiffness
Multifunctional