VGCFs, carbon nanotubes form

Fig. 7 (A) Carbon nanotube exposed at the breakage edge of a VGCF as (A) grown and (B) heat-treated at 3000 C. The sample is fractured by pulverization and the core diameter is 50 A. (B) These photos suggest a structural discontinuity between the nanotube core of the fiber and the CVD deposited carbon layers. The images show the strong mechanical properties of the nanotube core, which maintains its form after breakage of the periphery. (From Ref...

Pyrograf III (Pyrograf Products Inc., a subsidiary of Applied Sciences Inc.) vapor-grown carbon rtanofibers (VGCF s) were dispersed in PS to form a nanocomposite material (2 phr composition for all samples). Carbon nanotubes were obtained from Nanoledge (Montpellier, France) and were also added at 2phr in PS. 

In Fig. 13 is shown the 002 lattice images of an as-formed very thin VGCF. The innermost core diameter (ca. 20 nm as indicated by arrows) has two layers it is rather straight and appears to be the primary nanotube. The outer carbon layers, with diameters ca. 3-4 nm, are quite uniformly stacked parallel to the central core with 0.35 nm spacing. From the difference in structure as well as the special features in the mechanical strength (as in Fig. 7) it might appear possible that the two intrinsically different types of material... 

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