Processing, structure and properties of polyacrylonitrile fibers with 15 weight percent single wall carbon nanotubes

Abstract

For the first time, a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fiber with up to 15 wt% single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) was produced by dry-jet wet-spinning while maintaining good SWNT individualization. These fibers exhibited a tensile modulus of 32.1 GPa, tensile strength of 0.8 GPa, and axial electrical conductivity of 2.2 S/m. This was possible by using SWNTs that were non-covalently wrapped with poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA-SWNTs). Furthermore, this non-covalent PMMA functionalization significantly reduced the amount of solvent and time needed for processing of the spinning solution, as compared to the methods used in prior studies. Rheology of the spinning dispersions and mechanical properties and structural parameters of the produced fibers were related to the filler individualization, filler content and presence of filler-matrix interaction. Potential applications of this PAN fiber with high SWNT loading are briefly discussed.