Carbon Nanotube Textile Fabrication by Programmable Self-Assembly

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Carbon nanotubes are extremely fine, lightweight fibers having outstanding strength and electric properties. With suitable weaving technology, smart carbon nanotube textiles could enable multi-functionalities such as sensing, thermal regulation, health monitoring, and wearable prosthetics with embedded energy storage. However, weaving carbon nanotubes into fabrics using current technologies faces several challenges due to their short lengths and their tendency to aggregate into random clusters. This award studies programmable self-assembly of carbon nanotubes to overcome these challenges and fabricate smart textiles and fabrics. The fabrication process relies on liquid surface tension to autonomously weave carbon nanotubes into continuous fabrics. More broadly, the project advances the knowledge needed to transform nanostructure self-assembly processes to scalable nanomanufacturing technologies applicable to a wide range of industries and products, thus impacting national prosperity and society. The project engages middle and high school students, women and minorities in inspiring outreach programs at the intersection of engineering, biology and the arts. New education modules called The Art and Life of Cilia are developed to demonstrate a palette of nature-inspired fibrous materials and their use in designing various textures, patterns and functionalities. These education activities connect materials science and manufacturing to art and design using examples ranging from the physics of painting brushes and bird feathers to the processing of engineering materials. The objective of this study is to reveal the dynamics of capillary self-assembly of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) into meter-scale engineering textiles. Complex self-assembly dynamics, which occur at extremely small time and spatial scales, govern the uniformity of this fabrication process. By exploiting the dynamics of capillary self-assembly, a new paradigm of textile manufacturing by self-weaving can be realized. Programmable self-assembly can produce CNT textiles with unprecedented precision and repeatability at high throughput. This project includes a study of the kinetics of CNTs self-weaving by new mathematical dynamics models and experimental validation by in situ high-speed imaging. The processing conditions, including the choice of liquid, the residual polymers in the textile, and the weaving topology, are studied towards developing continuous roll-to-roll defect-free self-weaving process. A variety of complex self-woven textile architectures are produced by the programmable self-assembly of highly aligned CNTs, and studied for applications in smart textiles.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.