Carbon Nanotube

Composite Fibres

Presented By:
Shashank Osta
Vikas choudhary
The Future Beckons:
CNT Composites

 Most exciting area

 Huge potential

 Application of Carbon Nanotubes : modify

properties of other materials.
 Exceptional Properties - Mechanical, Electrical and
Thermal imparted to the composites.
 Possess one of the highest known thermal conductivity

 Mixing nanotube dispersions with solutions of the polymer

Or incorporating it in polymer matrices.

 Some Examples Include:

 Nanotube/PVA composite
 Nanotube/polystyrene composites (melt spinning)
 Carbon Nanotube/Polyacrylonitrile Composite Fiber
 Nanotube-Nylon Composite Fiber
 But Life’s not that easy:
The Challenges Faced
 The small size scale of the CNTs which presents
serious processing challenges.

 High cost of carbon nanotubes.

 The purification of CNT’s

 Impurities such as graphite sheets, amorphous carbon, metal
catalyst and the smaller fullerenes etc. propose challenges.

 SWNT samples have to be homogeneous .

 Some more…
 Insufficient bonding at the nanotubes/matrix
interface due to interface fracture

 The difficulty of aligning the tubes within the matrix

 Solvents used influence the mechanical

performance of the composite

 CNTs in the matrix tend to stick together,

And More…

 High quality/high purity carbon nanotubes currently

cost $800/g and even ones with defects and impurities
(metal catalyst and amorphous carbon) cost $5–35/g

 The scale-up limitations of arc discharge and laser

ablation make the cost of nanotubes-based
composites prohibitive
Let’s Purify The CNT’s:
The Purification Techniques
 Oxidation
Oxidative treatment of the SWNTs to remove carbonaceous impurities or to
clear the metal surface

 Acid treatment
Metal catalyst exposed to acid and solvated

 Annealing
Nanotubes will be rearranged and defects will be consumed at high
temperatures (873 – 1873 K)
 Ultrasonication
Agglomerates of different nanoparticles forced to vibrate and
will become more dispersed.

 Magnetic Purification
Ferromagnetic (catalytic) particles are mechanically removed from their
graphitic shells

 Micro filtration
Based on size or particle separation
 Cutting
 Chemically
 Mechanically
 Combination

 Functionalisation
Making SWNTs more soluble than the impurities by attaching other groups
to the tubes

 Chromatography
Separate small quantities of SWNTs into fractions with small length and
diameter distribution
SEM Characterization at Different Stages Of
purification

Images of (a) c-SWNT, (b) residue from 1600g, (c) residue from 16000g,
(d) supernatant from 16000g, (e) residue from 325000g, and (f) supernatant from 325000g.
The Making Of…
CNT Composites
Single Wall Carbon Nanotube/Polyacrylonitrile
Composite Fiber

 PAN synthesized using free radical polymerization

 Wet spinning used to produce fibers

 Dissolved in N, N-Dimethyl Formamide (DMF)

SWNT/PAN Fiber Spinning
Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube-Nylon
Composite Fiber
Fabrication of Nylon composite fiber

 Heated at 250 °C for 20 min

 Spinneret pressurized with nitrogen (50 psi)

 Extruded from hole of dia 400 microns

 Cooled in the ambient atmosphere

Figure. (a) Schematic of the fiber spinneret setup.
(b) Photograph of the spinneret setup. (c) Photograph of the composite fiber.
(d) SEM image of cross-sectional fracture of the composite fiber.
Aromatic Polyamide CNT Composites
 Composite comprising SWNTand Aromatic
Polyamide made by :-
 Suspending SWNT in an acid to form a nanotube-acid mixture

 Adding Aromatic Amide

 Dispersing the single-wall carbon nanotubes in the polyamide to

form a SWNT-Polyamide dope
 The dope can be spun into a fiber or formed
into a film
Preferred polyamide is poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide)
Properties
 Electrical properties

Nanotubes have been used as an alternative to carbon black.
 Used to increase the conductivity of relatively low cost polymers

 Optical properties
 Have electroluminescent properties, and are widely used in light-emitting
diodes

 Mechanical properties
 Incorporation of SWNTs into polymer matrix increases the tensile
strength and Young’s modulus
Electrostatic Applications

 In Aircraft Components
Enhanced Electrical conductivity provide electrostatic discharge and
electromagnetic radio frequency interference protection

 Computer housings and exterior automotive

parts

 Printable conductors for organic electronics

devices
Optoelectronic Applications

 Composite used as the emissive layer in an

organic light-emitting diode (LED)

 Photovoltaic devices
Electronic Textile applications
Electronic textile applications promising for Composite Carbon Nanotube fibers,
which are easily woven or sewn into textiles are:-

 Distributed Sensors
 Electronic Interconnects
 Electromagnetic Shielding
 Antennas
 Batteries
High Strength Applications

 Structural Composites

 Ballistic Protection Applications

Armor for personnel, structures and vehicles
References
 The Wondrous World of Carbon Nanotubes(‘a review of current
carbon nanotube technologies’) Eindhoven University of Technology
 Continuous carbon nanotube composite fibers: properties,potential
applications, and problems( Alan B. Dalton,*a Steve Collins,a Joselito
Razal,a Edgar, Munoz,a Von Howard Ebron, Bog G. Kim,a
Jonathan N. Coleman,b John P. Ferrarisa and Ray H. Baughmana )
 Carbon nanotube composites (P. J. F. Harris*)
 Single Wall Carbon Nanotube/Polyacrylonitrile Composite Fiber(By
Jianghong Liang) Georgia Institute of Technology October, 2004
 Continuous Spinning of a Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube-Nylon
Composite Fiber(Junbo Gao,† Mikhail E. Itkis,†,‡ Aiping Yu,‡ Elena
Bekyarova,‡ Bin Zhao,‡ and Robert C. Haddon) September 5, 2004
 Carbon nanotube reinforced composites: Potential and current
challenges Amal M.K. Esawi , a, and Mahmoud M. Faraga, (25
September 2006)
Thank You
Have Fun!