Carbon nanotube and graphene multiple-thread yarns

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Textile Engineering

Background:

• Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene (GNS) are advanced nanomaterials with exceptional properties.
• Developing hybrid structures of CNTs and GNS can lead to synergistic improvements in material performance.
• Textile-based materials with enhanced mechanical and electrical properties are in high demand for various applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate hybrid yarns combining carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene (GNS).
• To characterize the structure and properties of the as-prepared CNT-GNS hybrid yarns.
• To demonstrate the potential applications of these hybrid yarns.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of CNTs and GNS hybrid multiple-thread yarns using chemical vapor deposition (CVD).
• Post-stretching processing to assemble single-thread fibers composed of double-walled carbon nanotube (DWNT) bundles and GNS tablets.
• Mechanical testing to evaluate tensile strength and electrical conductivity measurements.

Main Results:

• Successfully fabricated CNT-GNS hybrid multiple-thread yarns consisting of ~20 μm diameter single-thread fibers.
• The single-thread fibers feature disordered DWNT bundles surrounded by GNS tablets with variable GNS content.
• The twisted hybrid yarn achieved a tensile strength of 300 MPa and electrical conductivity of 10^5 S/m.

Conclusions:

• The developed CNT-GNS hybrid yarns possess unique structural characteristics and promising mechanical and electrical properties.
• These hybrid yarns can be readily twisted into fibers and show potential for direct application in various fields.
• Demonstrated applications include use as lamp threads and in woven macroscopic structures.