High-strength composite yarns derived from oxygen plasma modified super-aligned carbon nanotube arrays

Spinning carbon nanotube (CNT) yarns from super-aligned carbon nanotube (SACNT) arrays is a promising approach to fabricate high-strength fibers. However the reported tensile strengths of the as-prepared fibers are far below that of an individual CNT. It is therefore still a challenge to improve their mechanical strengths. Here we report that the tensile strengths and Young's moduli can be further improved to 2.2 GPa and 200 GPa respectively, if we first treat the SACNT array with oxygen plasma by using a reactive ion etching (RIE) facility, then dry spin yarns from it and make composite fibers with polyvinyl alcohol. According to the experimental results obtained using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), the improvement is attributed to the oxygen RIE process, as it can create functional groups on the outer walls of CNTs and thus improve the interaction between the CNTs and the polymer molecules.