High performance carbon nanotube spun yarns from a crosslinked network

We report a new method to create covalent crosslinks between carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with reduced intertube and interbundle spaces, for improving the mechanical properties of CNT spun yarns. This is achieved through the pretreatment of a CNT yarn with 4-carboxybenzenediazonium tetrafluoroborate to form reactive carboxyphenyl groups on the CNT sidewalls. These carboxyphenyl groups are then reacted with a multifunctional crosslinker hexa(methoxymethyl) melamine, leading to a highly crosslinked network within the yarn. The CNT yarns were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, focused ion beam scanning electron microscope, and also assessed for their mechanical properties. The results showed that the method developed effectively improved mechanical properties of CNT yarns: we are able to produce CNT yarns with a tensile strength up to 2.5 GPa and Young’s modulus 121 GPa.