Effect of Spinning Conditions on the Mechanical Properties of Polyacrylonitrile Fibers Modified with Carbon Nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were used to modify polyacrylonitrile (PAN) polymer. The PAN/CNT composite fibers were spun from dimethylformamide solutions containing different types of CNTs. The effect of nanotube addition to the fiber precursor on the resulting mechanical properties is discussed. In this study, we examined the relationship of the rheological properties of PAN spinning solutions containing various types of CNTs and the tensile strength of the resulting PAN fibers. The presence of CNTs in the PAN spinning solution enhanced its deformability during the drawing stage. This effect resulted in a higher tensile strength in the fibers containing nanotubes, as compared to the pure fibers. The use of a three-stage drawing process resulted in a significant increase in the tensile strength of PAN fibers modified with multiwalled nanotubes. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 115: 3628-3635, 2010