Carbon nanotube fibers spun from a sizing material

Abstract

Carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers with large pores of hundreds of nanometers in diameter are synthesized from a commercially available sizing material. The pore size can be well controlled by varying the processing conditions including fiber drying temperature and shrinkage ratio. With the use of small amount H2SO4 (1 wt. %), low-concentration (1 wt. %) polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) bath coagulated porous fibers are flexible, with both high mechanical strength and electrical conductivity. Ethylene glycol/methanol mixture bath is also used to fabricate PVA-free porous CNT fibers. The porous fiber demonstrates good performance in foreign components accessing and accommodating, which may facilitate more CNT fiber practical applications, such as absorbents and supercapacitors.