(200a) Composite Fibers with Layered Structures for Structural and Smart Applications

The challenges in fabricating one-dimensional composite fibers include filler dispersion quality, polymer chain alignment, interfacial interactions, and fiber spinning difficulties. This research will focus on in-house developed fiber spinning combining gel-spinning and forced assembly. To demonstrate the versatility of our new spinning technique, we will use a few polymers, ranging from polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) reinforced by carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and boron nitride (BN), respectively. By controlling the spinning dynamics and fiber formation mechanics, these composites display enhanced mechanical properties (i.e., modulus, strength, and fracture resistance). In addition, by layering the structure in fibers, selectively placing the nanoparticles at desirable locations, and simultaneously aligning the nanoparticles, the formed composites can also exhibit new functional behaviors, such as sensing capabilities or heat dissipation anisotropy. Our new fiber spinning with high material compatibility has broad applications in high-performance fibers, including carbon or aromatic threads, defense, energy, sustainability, and biomedical areas.