Microwave makes carbon nanotubes less defective.
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.
Lin
Wei
W
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 771 Ferst Drive NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA.
Moon
Kyoung-Sik
KS
Zhang
Shanju
S
Ding
Yong
Y
Shang
Jintang
J
Chen
Mingxiang
M
Wong
Ching-Ping
CP