Fabrication and application of polymer composites comprising carbon nanotubes.

Carbon nanotubes are being used in place of carbon fibers in making composites due to their high strength, high aspect-ratio and excellent thermal and electrical conductivity. Although carbon nanotubes were discovered more than a decade ago, works on preparation of satisfactory composites reinforced by carbon nanotubes have encountered difficulties. This review will discuss some registered patents and relevant papers on the fabrication of carbon nanotube-polymer composites on improving material properties such as electrical conductivity, mechanical strength, and radiation detection which have a broad range of applications in nano-electronic devices, and space and medical elements.

Carbon nanotube reinforced ceramic composites and their performance.

Carbon nanotubes are considered as excellent reinforcements for improving the properties of ceramic composites. This paper reviews the reported techniques for the preparation of various ceramic coated CNTs, CNT-ceramic composites, CNT-ceramic composite coatings, etc. It is noted that a wide range of techniques have been used to fabricate these composites. Their characterisation has revealed that considerable improvements in electrical/thermal properties can be achieved, but only a few studies have demonstrated significant improvements in macro-scale mechanical properties of ceramics such as fracture toughness.