Advanced Materials Paper- Nanotube Carbon Fibers
The advance material that I researched was nanotube carbon fibers. This new material was
developed and studied by a group at the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy at Cambridge.
All the development work was done at the University of Cambridge.
It is a lightweight fiber made up of millions of hollow cylinders of carbon. The fiber is a cylinder
shape with a hexagonal atom structure, similar to that of graphite. Nanotube carbon fiber is also a semi-
conductor. This fiber forms a very strong material, used in body armor. Its performance is superior
because it provides great strength and protection against bullets and chemicals.
Nanotube carbon fiber is made using a spinning machine. The process starts with carbon
nanotubes that are first dissolved in a solvent which is chlorosulphonic acid. This forms a solution with
