Science · 2000 · 1.8K citations · 20 references
Natural SciencesMaterials EngineeringMaterials ScienceNanomaterialsNanotechnologyPolymer ChemistryCarbon NanomaterialsCarbon NanotubesFiber PropertiesNanocompositesNanomechanicsNanotubesCarbon FibersCarbon Nanotube AlignmentCarbon Nanotube Mechanical PropertiesElastic ModulusFibersNanotube SynthesisSingle-walled Carbon NanotubesSurfactant Solutions
The authors assemble single‑walled carbon nanotubes into long ribbons and fibers by dispersing them in surfactant, recondensing them in a polymer‑solution flow to form a nanotube mesh, and then collating the mesh into a fiber, with flow‑induced alignment producing ribbon‑like orientation. The resulting nanotube fibers exhibit exceptional flexibility, bending without breaking, and possess an elastic modulus ten times that of high‑quality bucky paper.
A simple method was used to assemble single-walled carbon nanotubes into indefinitely long ribbons and fibers. The processing consists of dispersing the nanotubes in surfactant solutions, recondensing the nanotubes in the flow of a polymer solution to form a nanotube mesh, and then collating this mesh to a nanotube fiber. Flow-induced alignment may lead to a preferential orientation of the nanotubes in the mesh that has the form of a ribbon. Unlike classical carbon fibers, the nanotube fibers can be strongly bent without breaking. Their obtained elastic modulus is 10 times higher than the modulus of high-quality bucky paper.
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Crystalline Ropes of Metallic Carbon Nanotubes
Roland Lee, Pavel Nikolaev, Hongjie Dai et al. · Science · 1996 · 5.5K citations
Solution Properties of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes
Jian Chen, M. A. Hamon, Hui Hu et al. · Science · 1998 · 2.5K citations