Patent ID: 7938996

Claim:
A process comprising the steps of: a) dispersing nanofibers in a dispersion liquid that has a proton-donating ability that is below that of 100% sulfuric acid to form a dispersion of nanofibers, wherein the nanofibers are carbon nanofibers; b) providing a flocculation liquid, the liquid having a pH selected from the group consisting of acidic pH and basic pH, wherein the acidic pH is less than 3 and the basic pH is greater than 11; c) injecting the dispersion of nanofibers into the flocculation liquid such that flocculation occurs to yield a primary nanofiber assembly; d) infiltrating said primary nanofiber assembly with a polymer to form an infiltrated polymer prior to producing a secondary nanofiber assembly that is substantially free of a liquid; and e) substantially removing the flocculation liquid from the primary nanofiber assembly to yield the secondary nanofiber assembly that is substantially free of the flocculation liquid, wherein i) said secondary nanofiber assembly has a form selected from the group consisting of a fiber, a rope, a sheet, a ribbon, a film, and combinations thereof, and ii) said secondary nanofiber assembly is a fiber, wherein this fiber is mechanically drawn to at least 50% of the breaking strain, so as to thereby increase the orientation of nanofibers in the fiber.