Strengthening carbon nanotube fibers with semi-crystallized polyvinyl alcohol and hot-stretching

Abstract The tensile mechanical properties of carbon nanotube (CNT) fiber, which is a one-dimensional assembly of ultra-strong CNTs, are still far short of our expectations. This is mainly due to their high porosity and relatively weak intertube load transfer efficiency. Previous studies have demonstrated that the fiber strength can be enhanced by the infiltration of polymer chains into the fiber. In this work, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was pre-infiltrated into loosely packed CNT ribbons, and the composite ribbons were then densified into the fiber form. This enabled a homogeneous dispersion of polymer chains within the CNT fibers. To enhance the mechanical properties of the CNT/PVA composite fibers, isothermal crystallization and ultrasonic treatments were implemented to increase the crystallization of PVA in the ribbon, and the composite fibers were hot-stretched to improve the alignment of both CNTs and PVA chains within the fibers. It was found that the tensile strength and modulus of the final composite fiber were 210% and 193.6% higher than those of the pristine CNT fiber. The structural evolution during these treatments and the mechanism of fiber strengthening were systematically investigated.