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US 9,315,385 B2Granted
Increasing the specific strength of spun carbon nanotube fibers
AssigneeLos Alamos National Security, LLC
InventorsPaul N. Arendt, Yuntian T. Zhu, Igor O. Usov, Xiefei Zhang
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A spun fiber of carbon nanotubes is exposed to ion irradiation. The irradiation exposure increases the specific strength of the spun fiber.
Claims20
A method for preparing a fiber, comprising:
- irradiating a spun fiber having a specific strength S1 and comprising carbon nanotubes to produce an irradiated spun fiber having a specific strength S2, wherein S2>S1;
- and
- heating the irradiated spun fiber at about 300 degrees C. to about 700 degrees C.
A fiber prepared by a method that comprises:
- irradiating a spun fiber having a specific strength S1 and comprising carbon nanotubes to produce an irradiated spun fiber having a specific strength S2, wherein S2>S1;
- and
- heating the irradiated spun fiber to about 300 degrees C. to about 700 degrees C. so as to reduce the number of structural defects within the carbon nanotubes of the irradiated spun fiber relative to the number of structural defects within the carbon nanotubes of the irradiated spun fiber before heating.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.