Characterization of mechanical properties of carbon nanotube fibers prepared by chemical vapor deposition

Abstract

A chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method for preparing carbon nanotube fibers was proposed. This method used ethanol/acetone as the carbon source, ferrocene as the catalyst and thiophene as the promoter. It used a high-temperature gas-phase flow reaction to spin out carbon tube fibers. Subsequently, the mechanical properties of carbon tube fibers prepared under different conditions (carbon source, gas flow and raw material ratio) were characterized and analyzed. The results demonstrated that the carbon fiber prepared with ethanol as the carbon source under specific synthesis conditions has good continuity and can be prepared for 3 hours in succession. In a feasible condition (Fe, S, C ratio, air flow ratio, and growth temperature), using pure acetone as the carbon source can prepare carbon nanotube fibers with fiber-specific strength > 1.5N / tex.