Improved mechanical properties of bucky paper achieved via the addition of carbon nanocoils

The Young’s modulus of buckypaper (BP) was improved via the addition of carbon nanocoils (CNCs). The Young’s modulus was the highest when the added amount of CNCs of the mass of the bucky paper was 11.9%. It is likely that the improved Young’s modulus was due to the higher Young’s modulus of the CNCs, compared with the multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) bundles. The helical structure of the CNCs also contributed to the improvement in the Young’s modulus. In the BP containing CNCs, the CNCs were anchored in the MWCNT matrix with superior entanglement, and this effect improved the Young’s modulus of the BP.