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Tough Nano‐Architectured Conductive Textile Made by Capillary Splicing of Carbon Nanotubes
Author(s) -
Liang Yue,
Sias David,
Chen Ping Ju,
Tawfick Sameh
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
advanced engineering materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.938
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1527-2648
pISSN - 1438-1656
DOI - 10.1002/adem.201600845
Subject(s) - materials science , carbon nanotube , composite material , nano , electrical conductor , van der waals force , textile , toughness , nanoscopic scale , fracture toughness , nanotechnology , hysteresis , dissipation , capillary action , electrically conductive , chemistry , physics , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics , molecule , thermodynamics
Flexible electronics require electrically conductive and mechanically reliable nanoscale thin films. However, thin metal films have low fracture energy, which limits the performance of flexible devices. We demonstrate the design and synthesis of highly conductive, strong and tough nano‐architectured textile by capillary splicing of aligned carbon nanotubes (CNT). Owing to the strong van der Waals forces among CNTs, the pristine CNT network has average strength of 170 MPa. The average fracture energy of the textile is 16 kJ/m 2 , 50 folds higher than metal nanofilms. The high toughness results from crack bifurcations and friction hysteresis in a dissipation zone propagating several millimeters ahead of the crack tip. This material is suitable for applications ranging from smart skin and flexible sensors.