title: Microwave makes carbon nanotubes less defective.
abstract: An ultrafast microwave annealing process has been developed to reduce the defect density in vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Raman and thermogravimetric analyses have shown a distinct defect reduction in the CNTs annealed in microwave for 3 min. Fibers spun from the as-annealed CNTs, in comparison with those from the pristine CNTs, show increases of approximately 35% and approximately 65%, respectively, in tensile strength ( approximately 0.8 GPa) and modulus (approximately 90 GPa) during tensile testing; an approximately 20% improvement in electrical conductivity (approximately 80000 S m(-1)) was also reported. The mechanism of the microwave response of CNTs was discussed.
authors.affiliation: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 771 Ferst Drive NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Kyoung-Sik
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.forename: Shanju
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Jintang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shang
authors.forename: Mingxiang
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Ching-Ping
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Wong