Super-tough and long composite fibers
AUG 01, 2003
DOI: 10.1063/1.4797126
Made of carbon nanotubes. Scientists at the University of Texas at Dallas injected a dispersion of single-walled CNTs into a pipe filled with a flowing polyvinyl alcohol solution to spin 100-m-long gel fibers, which were then converted into solid fibers having a tensile strength of 1.8 gigapascals. Tougher than spider silk, Kevlar®, or graphite fibers, the 50-µm-diameter composite fibers are 60% CNT by weight. The researchers also made their fiber into a “supercapacitor” and incorporated it into a woven fabric. (A. B. Dalton et al., Nature 423 , 703 2003 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/423703a
© 2003 American Institute of Physics
