Ultrafast-responsive carbon nanotube-grafted fibre textiles

Direct grafting of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on fibre textiles is a promising strategy to functionalize conventional fibre-reinforced polymer composites with extra merits such as integrated sensing capability. In this study, CNTs are in situ grafted on glass fibre (GF) via chemical vapor deposition at a low synthesis temperature (500 degrees C). By regulating the mass fractions of CNTs, the quantum tunnelling effect can be triggered among CNT nanoparticles, with which the CNT-grafted GF textiles manifest high sensitivity to structure-guided ultrasonic waves in a frequency regime from 175 to 375 kHz. With ignorable degradation in mechanical attributes due to this direct grafting processing as affirmed by ASTM-complied tests (ASTM C1557 and D3039), the CNT-grafted GF textiles demonstrate the great potential in developing hybrid functional composites.

Automated summary

In this study, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were in situ grafted onto glass fiber (GF) via chemical vapor deposition at a low synthesis temperature (500 degrees C). By regulating the mass fractions of CNTs, the quantum tunneling effect among CNT nanoparticles was triggered, resulting in high sensitivity of the CNT-grafted GF textiles to structure-guided ultrasonic waves in the frequency range from 175 to 375 kHz. The CNT-grafted GF textiles demonstrated great potential in developing hybrid functional composites, with negligible degradation in mechanical attributes as confirmed by ASTM-complied tests (ASTM C1557 and D3039).