High-strength scalable carbon nanostructured sheets through mechanical densification

The fabrication of macrostructures based on carbon nanostructures (CNS), such as CNS sheets, while maintaining the nanoscale mechanical properties of CNS, poses a significant technological and fundamental challenge. The presence of voids in the structure of CNS sheets significantly impacts their mechanical and electrical reliabilities. This study presents the fabrication of high-strength CNS (carbon nanostructures) sheets achieved through the mechanical densification of CNS sheets produced via the filtration process. Utilizing the filtration process as a potentially scalable and cost-efficient method reliably enhances the mechanical properties of CNS sheets. Within these CNS sheets, carbon nanostructures are densely stacked into macroscopically layered films, reducing voids, and enhancing mechanical properties. These CNS sheets hold promise for various applications, including electromagnetic interference shielding, electronics, energy storage, heat dissipation, among others. The CNS sheets obtained through the densification of CNS layers are analyzed to investigate how surfactant concentration and sonication time impact their mechanical properties. These high-strength CNS sheets, with improved mechanical properties, open doors to diverse applications ranging from electronics to energy storage, promising innovation in multiple fields.