Carbon nanotube fiber (CNTF) has the characteristics of light weight, high strength, and versatility. As a new generation of special fiber materials, it has great strategic significance for the development of high-end technology. Although carbon nanofiber and its composite material industry has not yet formed in the world, the academic community generally believes that it will become the next generation of new high-strength fiber materials.
Recently, researchers at Rice University in the United States have used higher-quality and longer-length carbon nanotubes to produce carbon nanotube fibers through a solution spinning process. The fibers are not only light in weight, but also have good mechanical and electrical properties. flexibility.
It is reported that the Young's modulus of the carbon nanotube fibers prepared by the researchers is 260 GPa, the average elongation at break is 3.5%, and the tensile strength is 4.2 GPa, which is much higher than the 3.6 GPa of Kevlar®. Moreover, its conductivity has increased to 10.9 MS/m, which is about 80% of copper. This is the first time that the conductivity of carbon nanotube fibers has exceeded 10 MS/m.
Researchers have compared the properties of the carbon nanotube fibers with carbon fibers, direct-spinning carbon nanotube fibers, polymer fibers, and metals and found that the carbon nanotube fibers prepared in this experiment will have the tensile strength of commercial carbon fibers and direct-spinning carbon nanotubes. The tube fiber is a perfect combination of metal-like electrical conductivity and excellent thermal conductivity.
The carbon nanotube fiber has tens of millions of nanotubes in the cross section. It is currently being studied in the fields of repairing damaged heart bridges, electronic interfaces with the brain, cochlear implants, flexible antennas, automobiles and aerospace. However, increasing the production rate of carbon nanotube fibers and reducing production costs are still huge challenges currently faced.