Electrospinning of Continuous Carbon Nanotube‐Filled Nanofiber Yarns

Ko, Frank; Gogotsi, Yury; Ali, Ashraf A.; Naguib, Nevin; Ye, Haihui; Yang, Guoliang; Li, Christopher; Willis, Peter

doi:10.1002/adma.200304955

Cited by 727 publications

(465 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…7−11 The incorporation of CNTs into the polymeric media via electrospinning, has been demonstrated to significantly improve the mechanical properties of the electrospun composite fibers. 7,12−14 It is recognized that this technique is an ideal route to translate the unique superior properties of CNTs to mesoand macroscale structures 7 by first embedding the CNTs in the fibers and then incorporating of these composite fibers into a polymer-matrix, successively.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

MWCNTs/P(St-co-GMA) Composite Nanofibers of Engineered Interface Chemistry for Epoxy Matrix Nanocomposites

Özden-Yenigün

Menceloǵlu

Papila

2012

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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Strengthened nanofiber-reinforced epoxy matrix composites are demonstrated by engineering composite electrospun fibers of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and reactive P(St-co-GMA). MWCNTs are incorporated into surfacemodified, reactive P(St-co-GMA) nanofibers by electrospinning; functionalization of these MWCNT/P(St-co-GMA) composite nanofibers with epoxide moieties facilitates bonding at the interface of the cross-linked fibers and the epoxy matrix, effectively reinforcing and toughening the epoxy resin. Rheological properties are determined and thermodynamic stabilization is demonstrated for MWCNTs in the P(St-co-GMA)-DMF polymer solution. Homogeneity and uniformity of the fiber formation within the electrospun mats are achieved at polymer concentration of 30 wt %. Results show that the MWCNT fraction decreases the polymer solution viscosity, yielding a narrower fiber diameter. The fiber diameter drops from an average of 630 nm to 460 nm, as the MWCNTs wt fraction (1, 1.5, and 2%) is increased. The electrospun nanofibers of the MWCNTs/P(St-co-GMA) composite are also embedded into an epoxy resin to investigate their reinforcing abilities. A significant increase in the mechanical response is observed, up to >20% in flexural modulus, when compared to neat epoxy, despite a very low composite fiber weight fraction (at about 0.2% by a single-layer fibrous mat). The increase is attributed to the combined effect of the two factors the inherent strength of the well-dispersed MWCNTs and the surface chemistry of the electrospun fibers that have been modified with epoxide to enable cross-linking between the polymer matrix and the nanofibers. KEYWORDS: electrospinning, composite nanofibers, surface modification, cross-linked interface, carbon nanotubes ■ INTRODUCTIONSince the discovery of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), 1 they have attracted a lot of attention in materials and applied research because of their unique and fascinating structure and properties. 2−6 One specific application is the use of CNTs in polymer fibers to impart dramatically enhanced strength and toughness in the fibers. 7−11 The incorporation of CNTs into the polymeric media via electrospinning, has been demonstrated to significantly improve the mechanical properties of the electrospun composite fibers. 7,12−14 It is recognized that this technique is an ideal route to translate the unique superior properties of CNTs to mesoand macroscale structures 7 by first embedding the CNTs in the fibers and then incorporating of these composite fibers into a polymer-matrix, successively.Electrospinning is widely used process for forming ultrafine fibers by electrostatically induced self-assembly. 15 One of the challenges of the electrospinning technique is controlling material and process parameters that affect the various properties and characteristics, such as overall strength, fiber diameter, and morphology. 16 Electrospun polymeric nanofibers have recently been explored for their reinforcing ability in composites. 17−22 They were utilized to spec...

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Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

MWCNTs/P(St-co-GMA) Composite Nanofibers of Engineered Interface Chemistry for Epoxy Matrix Nanocomposites

Özden-Yenigün

Menceloǵlu

Papila

2012

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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“…3 The feasibility to construct long and continuous polymeric, [4][5][6] ceramic, 7 and composite 8 nanofibers as well as nanotubes 9 with diameters less than 100 nm has been demonstrated using electrospinning. Typical applications include bioscaffolding, 10 wound dressing, 11 and filtrations 12 to name a few.…”

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confidence: 99%

Near-Field Electrospinning

et al. 2006

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A near-field electrospinning (NFES) process has been developed to deposit solid nanofibers in a direct, continuous, and controllable manner. A tungsten electrode with tip diameter of 25 µm is used to construct nanofibers of 50−500 nm line width on silicon-based collectors while the liquid polymer solution is supplied in a manner analogous to that of a dip pen. The minimum applied bias voltage is 600 V, and minimum electrode-to-collector distance is 500 µm to achieve position controllable deposition. Charged nanofibers can be orderly collected, making NFES a potential tool in direct write nanofabrication for a variety of materials.Electrically driven liquid jets and the stability of electrically charged droplets have been studied for hundreds of years, 1,2 while the practical apparatus of electrospinning, in which a charged jet of polymer solution is deposited onto a collector under the influence of an electrical field, dated back in 1934. 3 The feasibility to construct long and continuous polymeric, 4-6 ceramic, 7 and composite 8 nanofibers as well as nanotubes 9 with diameters less than 100 nm has been demonstrated using electrospinning. Typical applications include bioscaffolding, 10 wound dressing, 11 and filtrations 12 to name a few. Researchers have further explored the possibilities of using electrospun nanofibers in fabricating micro-and nanodevices such as field effect transistors, 13 gas 14 and optical sensors, 15 and deposition of DNA on functional chips. 16 In these and other applications, the controllability of the electrospinning process is critical. Unfortunately, current setup of electrospinning is unstable in nature as it relies on the chaotic whipping of liquid jets to generate nanofibers. Limited works toward the control of electrospinning have emerged, including aligning nanofibers by electrical field 17 and using rotational mechanical mandrels. 18,19 Furthermore, numerous investigations by means of analytical and experimental methodologies have been conducted to study the fundamental physics and chemistry of electrospinning for further improvement and control, such as the effects of polymer solution concentration, applied voltage, and electrode-to-collector distance. 4,[20][21][22] Here we report experiments of controllable electrospinning based on a new type of "near-field" electrospinning (NFES). Figure 1A illustrates the schematic setup of NFES that merges several disparate concepts. First, the electrode-to-collector distance, h, is in the range of 500 µm to 3 mm to utilize the stable liquid jets region for controllable deposition. Second, a solid tungsten spinneret of 25 µm tip diameter as illustrated in Figure 1B is used in NFES to achieve nanofibers with sub-100-nm resolution. Third, the applied electrostatic voltage is reduced due to the short electrode-to-collector distance while the electrical field in the tip region maintains the strength in the range of 10 7 V/m as those used in conventional electrospinning to activate the process. Fourth, discrete droplets of polymer solu...

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“…While the topological properties of the network have a significant influence on its mechanical properties (7), the strength of the membrane is ultimately limited by the strength of the individual fibers. As such, significant work has gone into reinforcing the individual fibers through the incorporation of carbon nanotubes (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%