Condensed Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes as Super Fibers

TL;DR

This paper introduces condensed multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CMWNTs) with enhanced shear and tensile strengths, thermal stability, and potential for space elevator applications, achieved through atomistic calculations and proposed production methods.

Contribution

The paper proposes a new CMWNT system with condensed intershell spacings that significantly improves mechanical properties over traditional CNTs.

Findings

CMWNTs exhibit several orders of magnitude higher intershell shear strength.

They demonstrate higher tensile strengths and moduli than ordinary CNTs.

CMWNTs are thermally stable up to 2000 K.

Abstract

The ultra-low intershell shear strength in carbon nanotubes (CNTs) has been the primary obstacle to applications of CNTs as mechanical reinforcements. In this paper we propose a new CNT-system composed of comprising of coaxial cylindrical shells of sp2-bonded carbons with condensed intershell spacings. Our atomistic calculations show that such condensed multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CMWNTs) can greatly enhance intershell shear strengths by several orders, and can simultaneously generate higher tensile strengths and moduli respectively than those of ordinary CNTs. It has further shown that CMWNTs can maintain thermally stable up to 2,000 K. By taking advantage of the primary enhancement mechanism of CMWNTs, a method of producing CMWNTs is therefore proposed tentatively. It is believed that CMWNTs featured with those properties can be taken as excellent candidates of super fibers for creating space elevators.