Patent ID: 8202749
Filing Date: 2012-06-19
Classification: B32B,B82Y,C01B,C04B,D01D,D01F,H01J,Y10S,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A method of making an array of aligned and dispersed carbon nanotubes, the method comprising: mixing a plurality of carbon nanotubes with an encapsulant material to form a mixture; depositing the mixture into a first tube; then drawing the first tube including the mixture into a drawn fiber at an elevated temperature, the plurality of carbon nanotubes attaining a first average alignment in a drawing direction; then cutting the drawn fiber transversely to form a plurality of fiber segments, each fiber segment including a portion of the plurality of carbon nanotubes; then bundling the fiber segments together to form a bundle of fiber segments; and then depositing the bundle of fiber segments into a second tube; and then drawing the bundle of fiber segments and the second tube into a drawn bundle at the elevated temperature, the plurality of carbon nanotubes attaining a second average alignment in the drawing direction within channels of the drawn bundle, the second average alignment being higher than the first average alignment, and an average resistivity per channel of the drawn bundle being at least about 27% lower than a resistivity of the drawn fiber.