Macroscopic Nanotube Fibers Spun from Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Polyelectrolytes

Abstract

In this work, single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) fibers were produced from SWCNT polyelectrolyte dispersions stabilized by crown ether in dimethyl sulfoxide and coagulated into aqueous solutions. The SWCNT polyelectrolyte dispersions had concentrations up to 52 mg/mL and showed liquid crystalline behavior under polarized optical microscopy. The produced SWCNT fibers are neat (i.e., not forming composites with polymers) and showed a tensile strength up to 124 MPa and a Young's modulus of 14 GPa. This tensile strength is comparable to those of SWCNT fibers spun from strong acids. Conductivities on the order of 10(4) S/m were obtained by doping the fibers with iodine.