Ultrastrong, Stiff and Multifunctional Carbon Nanotube Composites

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are an order of magnitude stronger than any other current engineering fiber. However, for the past two decades, it has been a challenge to utilize their reinforcement potential in composites. Here, we report CNT composites with unprecedented multifunctionalities, including record high strength (3.8 GPa), high Young's modulus (293 GPa), electrical conductivity (1230 S·cm −1), and thermal conductivity (41 W m −1 K −1). These superior properties are derived from the long length, high volume fraction, good alignment and reduced waviness of the CNTs, which were produced by a novel-processing approach that can be easily scaled up for industrial production.