High‐Strength Carbon Nanotube Fibers Fabricated by Infiltration and Curing of Mussel‐Inspired Catecholamine Polymer

Abstract

Super-strong carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers are fabricated by infiltration of the mussel-inspired underwater adhesives, poly(ethylenimine)-catechols (PEI-Cs). PEI-C mimics the amino acid sequence of mussel adhesive proteins in which catechols from 3,4- dihydroxyl-L-phenylalanine and amines from lysine are found. Weak interactions between CNTs are overcome by heat-induced, metal-catalyzed chemical crosslinking of catechol. PEI-C’s strong and versatile adhesion results in high-strength CNT fibers. Detailed facts of importance to specialist readers are published as ”Supporting Information”. Such documents are peer-reviewed, but not copy-edited or typeset. They are made available as submitted by the authors. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.