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Chemically bonded oxygen atoms at the carbon nanotube (CNT)/metal interface provide strong bonding between CNTs and a metal matrix (see picture). The origin of the enhanced mechanical properties of CNT/Cu is analyzed by the load‐transfer concept and oxygen atoms are found to be a key factor in the construction of strong CNT/metal composites.

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Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have attracted remarkable attention as reinforcement for composites owing to their outstanding properties1-3. CNT/Cu nanocomposites were fabricated by mixing the nano-sized Cu powders with multi-wall carbon nanotubes and followed by the spark plasma sintering process. The CNT/Cu nanocomposite fabricated from nano-sized Cu powders shows more homogeneous distribution of CNTs in matrix compared to that fabricated from macro-sized Cu powders. The hardness of CNT/Cu nanocomposite fabricated from nano-sized Cu powders increases with increasing the volume fraction of CNTs, while the hardness of that fabricated from macro-sized Cu powders decreases with the addition of CNTs.

Currently used activated carbon electrodes from commercial products contain mostly micropores (<2 nm), which are not easily accessible to electrolyte ions. Therefore, mesoporous carbons, with their more accessible porous infrastructure, are promising materials to maximize the capacitance in electrochemical capacitors. This paper reports a new hybrid carbon nanofiber architecture having mesopores with a narrow distribution, highly accessible surface area, low resistivity, and high stability by electrospinning of starch without using the template method for the first time. By using the natural ability of the starch lamellar structure and controlling the carbonization temperature, we successfully fabricated a new hybrid carbon architecture consisting of CNT reinforced-carbon nanofibers with a pore diameter of 4.76 nm and pore volume of 0.31 cm 3 g À1 . It shows a higher specific capacitance (170 F g À1 ) and electrical conductivity (2.1 S cm À1 ) than other carbon materials derived from synthetic polymers and free-standing CNT papers.