Device and method for manufacturing carbon nanotube fiber
Technical Field
The invention particularly relates to a device and a method for manufacturing carbon nanotube fibers, and belongs to the technical field of carbon nanotube fiber synthesis.
Background
Carbon nanotube fibers are macroscopic fiber materials assembled from a large number of one-dimensional nanoscale carbon nanotubes. The carbon nanotube fiber material has the advantages of light weight, high strength and high conductivity, and has wide application prospect in the fields of composite materials, light-weight wires, intelligent fibers and the like. At present, methods for manufacturing carbon nanotube fibers include a wet spinning technology, a carbon nanotube array spinning technology and a floating catalytic growth technology, wherein the floating catalytic growth technology has the advantages of low cost, high yield, easiness in large-scale production and the like, and is widely concerned by people.
The preparation of the floating carbon nanotube fiber is a hotspot of research in the field of high-strength fibers at present, the highest mechanical tensile strength of the floating carbon nanotube fiber is reported to reach about 9GPa, and further research shows that the orientation of the carbon nanotube in the floating carbon nanotube fiber is one of the key factors determining the mechanical property of the fiber; at present, the fiber orientation of the floating carbon nanotube is mainly improved by adopting the traditional fiber drafting post-treatment technology, however, strong inter-tube van der waals interaction force exists between the carbon nanotubes in the carbon nanotube fiber, the internal structure of the fiber can be damaged in the process of drafting orientation, defects are formed, the mechanical strength and the uniformity of the fiber are reduced, and the improvement of the mechanical property of the floating carbon nanotube fiber is further limited. To solve this problem, Jaegeun Lee et al (Nature Communications 10, 2962, (2019)) of the korean scientific and technical research institute (kit) soaks the carbon nanotube fiber with chlorosulfonic acid to expand the volume of the carbon nanotube fiber, and further improves the orientation of the fiber by post-drawing treatment and secondary densification processes, thereby realizing an improvement in the load of the carbon nanotube fiber and finally improving the mechanical tensile strength of the fiber by 2 times as much as the original one. However, this method adds the process steps of fiber expansion and secondary densification, and the chlorosulfonic acid used is a superacid, increasing the process difficulty and complexity.
Disclosure of Invention
The main objective of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and a method for manufacturing carbon nanotube fibers, so as to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.
In order to achieve the purpose, the technical scheme adopted by the invention comprises the following steps:
in one aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for manufacturing carbon nanotube fibers, including a synthesizing apparatus at least for synthesizing a carbon nanotube fiber precursor, a fiberization collecting apparatus at least for fiberizing and collecting the synthesized carbon nanotube fiber precursor, and an auxiliary collecting roller apparatus disposed between the synthesizing apparatus and the fiberization collecting apparatus, the auxiliary collecting roller apparatus at least for drafting the carbon nanotube precursor step by step;
the auxiliary collecting roller device comprises a plurality of first rotating bodies arranged along the collecting direction of the carbon nanotube fiber precursor, the first rotating bodies can rotate under the driving of a driving piece, and the carbon nanotube fiber precursor is sequentially contacted with first rotating surfaces of the first rotating bodies and is gradually drawn along different directions.
Further, the plurality of first rotating bodies are sequentially and alternately arranged on two sides of the carbon nanotube fiber precursor along the collecting direction of the carbon nanotube fiber precursor.
Further, the linear speed of the first rotating surface of the plurality of first rotating bodies is gradually increased along the collecting direction of the carbon nanotube fiber precursor.
Further, along the collecting direction of the carbon nano tube fiber precursor, the linear speed of the first rotating surface of the plurality of first rotating bodies is increased by a proportion of 5-50%.
Preferably, the maximum linear velocity of the first rotating surface of the plurality of first rotating bodies is less than 20m/min.
Further, the first rotating surface of the first rotating body is a cylindrical surface.
Preferably, the first rotating body rotates in the same direction as the collection direction of the carbon nanotube fiber precursor.
Further, the diameter of the first rotating bodies is 3-20cm, and the distance between every two adjacent first rotating bodies along the collecting direction of the carbon nanotube fiber precursor is 3-20 cm.
Furthermore, the device for manufacturing the carbon nanotube fiber further comprises a transition roller device, wherein the transition roller device is arranged between the synthesis device and the auxiliary collecting and drafting device and is at least used for adjusting the reaction time of the carbon nanotube fiber precursor in the synthesis device.
Furthermore, the transition roller device includes at least one second rotating body, the second rotating body can be driven by a driving member to rotate, the carbon nanotube fiber precursor can contact with a second rotating surface of the second rotating body, and the moving speed of the carbon nanotube fiber precursor in the synthesizing device is the same as the linear speed of the second rotating surface.
Preferably, the linear velocity of the second rotating surface is 1m/min to 10 m/min.
Preferably, the second surface of rotation is a cylindrical surface.
Further, the auxiliary collecting roller device is arranged in a collecting chamber, and the temperature in the collecting chamber is 0-300 ℃.
The embodiment of the invention also provides a method for manufacturing the carbon nanotube fiber, which comprises a step of synthesizing a carbon nanotube fiber precursor, a step of performing fiberization treatment on the carbon nanotube fiber precursor, and a step of gradually drafting the carbon nanotube fiber precursor.
In some more specific embodiments, the method specifically includes:
1) provides the device for manufacturing the carbon nano tube fiber,
2) raising the temperature of the synthesis device to 1100-1600 ℃, and introducing a mixed gas of hydrogen and inert gas into the synthesis device as a process gas, wherein the proportion of the hydrogen is 10-100%, and the flow rate of the process gas is 2-10L/min;
3) providing a liquid phase carbon source comprising 96-99 wt% ethanol, 0.5-2 wt% ferrocene, 0.5-2 wt% thiophene;
4) injecting the liquid-phase carbon source into the synthesis device at an injection rate of 5-60ml/h to react and synthesize a carbon nanotube fiber precursor;
5) the synthesized carbon nanotube precursor continues to move to a downstream collecting chamber under the action of the process gas, and the reaction time of the carbon nanotube fiber precursor in the synthesis device is controlled by a transition roller device;
6) the carbon nanotube fiber precursor is contacted with first rotating surfaces of a plurality of first rotating bodies, the carbon nanotube fiber precursor is gradually drawn by the first rotating bodies, the first rotating bodies are sequentially and alternately arranged on two sides of the carbon nanotube fiber precursor along the collecting direction of the carbon nanotube fiber precursor, the linear velocity of the first rotating surfaces of the first rotating bodies is sequentially increased, and the maximum linear velocity of the first rotating surfaces is less than 20 m/min;
7) and (3) performing fiberization treatment on the drafted carbon nanotube fiber precursor by using a fiberization collecting device to obtain the carbon nanotube fiber.
Compared with the prior art, the invention has the advantages that:
1) according to the method for manufacturing the carbon nanotube fiber, provided by the embodiment of the invention, the carbon nanotube fiber precursor is drawn by adopting the auxiliary collecting roller device, and the carbon nanotube fiber precursor before fiberization has an aerogel-like loose structure, so that the drawing and the orientation are more facilitated, and the damage and the defect of the internal structure of the fiber are effectively avoided while the carbon nanotube is oriented;
2) according to the device for manufacturing the carbon nanotube fiber, provided by the embodiment of the invention, the control of the reaction time of the carbon nanotube fiber precursor in the reaction furnace tube is realized through the transition roller device, the reaction time reduction caused by rapid drafting is avoided, and the yield of the carbon nanotube fiber is maintained; compared with the existing post-treatment technology of the carbon nanotube fiber, the preparation method provided by the embodiment of the invention has the advantages of simple process, high efficiency and low cost.
Drawings
In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below, it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments described in the present application, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative efforts.
FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus for manufacturing carbon nanotube fibers according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a photograph of a carbon nanotube fiber prepared in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a scanning electron micrograph of a carbon nanotube fiber prepared in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 4 is a graph showing a comparison of mechanical strength of carbon nanotube fibers before and after drawing using an apparatus for manufacturing carbon nanotube fibers according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
Detailed Description
In view of the deficiencies in the prior art, the inventors of the present invention have made extensive studies and extensive practices to provide technical solutions of the present invention. The technical solution, its implementation and principles, etc. will be further explained as follows.
The embodiment of the invention provides a device for manufacturing carbon nanotube fibers, which is provided with a transition roller device and an auxiliary collection roller device, wherein the transition roller device has the function of controlling the growth time of a carbon nanotube precursor, and the auxiliary collection roller device has the function of gradually drafting the carbon nanotube fiber precursor, so that the carbon nanotube fiber precursor can be effectively and uniformly drafted and oriented before fiberization, and high-strength continuous carbon nanotube fibers can be further obtained.
Referring to fig. 1, an apparatus for manufacturing carbon nanotube fibers according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention mainly includes a raw material injection apparatus, a carbon nanotube fiber precursor synthesis apparatus, a transition roller apparatus, an auxiliary collection roller apparatus, and a fiberization collection apparatus.
The raw material injection device 1 mainly provides a liquid-phase carbon source and a process gas required by the synthesis of the floating carbon nanotube fiber precursor, the liquid-phase carbon source can be injected by using an injection pump, and the process gas can be supplied by using a mass flow meter.
Specifically, in the embodiment of the present invention, the carbon nanotube may be synthesized by a floating catalytic cracking method or the like. The synthesis device is a high-temperature reactor, for example, a vertical furnace, the vertical furnace mainly comprises a reaction furnace tube 2 and a heater 3, the reaction furnace tube 2 mainly provides a synthesis environment for the floating carbon nanotube fiber precursor, and the reaction furnace tube 2 can adopt a quartz tube, a graphite tube, a corundum tube and the like; the heater 3 mainly heats the reaction furnace tube 2 to provide a temperature environment required for synthesizing the carbon nanotube fiber precursor.
Specifically, the transition roller device and the auxiliary collection roller device are arranged in a fiber collection chamber (i.e., the collection chamber) 4, the fiber collection chamber is a closed chamber, the transition roller device comprises at least one transition roller (i.e., the second rotating body) 6, the transition roller 6 can be driven by a driving part to rotate, the transition roller 6 is in contact with a carbon nanotube fiber precursor 5 led out from the reaction furnace tube 2, in the collection process, the linear velocity of the outer surface (i.e., the second rotating surface) of the transition roller 6 is 1m/min-10m/min, the moving speed of the carbon nanotube fiber precursor 5 in the reaction furnace tube 2 is the same as that of the outer surface of the transition roller 6, and the purpose of effectively controlling the reaction time of the carbon nanotube fiber precursor 5 in the reaction furnace tube 2 can be achieved; the transition roller 6 can be integrally made of teflon, or the outer surface of the transition roller 6 is provided with a teflon coating, so that the outer surface of the transition roller 6 can be prevented from being adhered due to the large van der waals force on the surface of the carbon nanotube fiber precursor 5, and the damage to the carbon nanotube fiber precursor 5 is avoided.
Specifically, the auxiliary collecting roller device includes a plurality of drafting rollers (i.e., the first rotating body, the same below) 7, the drafting rollers 7 can be driven by the driving member to rotate, the plurality of drafting rollers 7 are sequentially and alternately arranged on two sides of the carbon nanotube fiber precursor 5 along the collecting direction of the carbon nanotube fiber precursor 5, the distance between two adjacent drafting rollers 7 along the collecting direction of the carbon nanotube fiber precursor 5 is greater than 3cm and smaller than 20cm, and the diameter of each drafting roller 7 is greater than 3cm and smaller than 20 cm; in the advancing and collecting process of the carbon nanotube fiber precursor 5, the linear speeds of the outer surfaces (namely the second rotating surfaces) of the drafting rollers 7 sequentially arranged along the collecting direction of the carbon nanotube fiber precursor are sequentially increased in an equal proportion, the increasing proportion is 5-50%, and the maximum linear speed of the outer surface of the drafting roller 7 positioned at the tail end of the collecting direction of the carbon nanotube fiber precursor in the plurality of drafting rollers 7 is 1-20 m/min; the whole drafting roller 7 can be made of teflon, or the outer surface of the drafting roller 7 is provided with a teflon coating, so that the drafting roller 7 can be prevented from being adhered to the surface of the carbon nanotube fiber precursor 5 due to the large van der waals force on the surface of the carbon nanotube fiber precursor 5, and the damage to the carbon nanotube fiber precursor 5 is avoided.
The fiberization collecting device comprises a fiberization device and a collecting device, the fiberization device comprises a liquid seal device 8, the liquid seal device 8 mainly has the functions of sealing the fiber collecting chamber 4 and fiberizing the carbon nanotube fiber precursor through the action of gas-liquid interfacial force to obtain the carbon nanotube fiber 9.
The collecting device comprises a winding device 10 which is mainly used for winding and collecting the carbon nanotube fiber 9 grown at the front end.
The synthesis and preparation process of the floating carbon nanotube fiber mainly comprises two processes of synthesis of a carbon nanotube fiber precursor, fiberization of the synthesized carbon nanotube fiber precursor and collection. According to the method for manufacturing the carbon nanotube fiber, the auxiliary collecting roller device is added to conduct drafting orientation on the carbon nanotube fiber precursor before the step of collecting the floating carbon nanotube fiber in a fiberizing mode, the carbon nanotube fiber precursor has an aerogel-like loose structure, damage to the internal structure of the fiber can be effectively avoided in the process of drafting orientation, and the high-strength and high-orientation carbon nanotube fiber can be directly obtained through the subsequent collection process of the fiberizing.
Specifically, a method for manufacturing a carbon nanotube fiber includes:
1) provides the device for manufacturing the carbon nano tube fiber,
2) the temperature of the reaction furnace tube 2 is raised to 1100-1600 ℃, and then mixed gas of hydrogen and inert gas is introduced into the reaction furnace tube 2 as process gas, wherein the proportion of the hydrogen is 10-100%, and the flow rate of the process gas is 2-10L/min;
3) providing a liquid-phase carbon source containing 96-99 wt% of ethanol, 0.5-2 wt% of ferrocene and 0.5-2 wt% of thiophene;
4) injecting the liquid-phase carbon source into the reaction furnace tube 2 at an injection rate of 5-60ml/h to react and synthesize a carbon nanotube fiber precursor;
5) the synthesized carbon nanotube precursor continues to move to a downstream fiber collecting chamber 4 under the action of the process gas, and the reaction time of the carbon nanotube fiber precursor in the reaction furnace tube 2 is controlled by a transition roller 6;
6) the carbon nanotube fiber precursor 5 is contacted with the outer surfaces of a plurality of drawing rollers 7, the carbon nanotube fiber precursor is drawn step by step through the plurality of drawing rollers 7, the plurality of drawing rollers 7 are sequentially and alternately arranged at two sides of the carbon nanotube fiber precursor along the collection direction of the carbon nanotube fiber precursor, the linear speeds of the outer surfaces of the plurality of drawing rollers 7 are sequentially increased in equal proportion, the increasing proportion is-50%, and the maximum linear speed of the drawing rollers 7 is 1-20 m/min;
7) the drafted carbon nanotube fiber precursor 5 is fiberized after passing through a water seal liquid level of a liquid seal device 8 to obtain carbon nanotube fibers 9, and the carbon nanotube fibers 9 are collected by a winding device 10 to obtain the carbon nanotube fiber material shown in fig. 2;
8) performing structural characterization on the collected carbon nanotube fibers by a scanning electron microscope, wherein the characterization result is shown in fig. 3, and the carbon nanotubes in the carbon nanotube fibers are well oriented; as shown in fig. 4, the mechanical strength of the carbon nanotube fiber before and after the drawing is greatly improved, so as to obtain the high-strength carbon nanotube fiber material.
According to the method for manufacturing the carbon nanotube fiber, provided by the embodiment of the invention, the carbon nanotube fiber precursor is drawn by adopting the auxiliary collecting roller device, and the carbon nanotube fiber precursor before fiberization has an aerogel-like loose structure, so that the drawing and the orientation are more facilitated, and the damage and the defect of the internal structure of the fiber are effectively avoided while the carbon nanotube is oriented.
According to the device for manufacturing the carbon nanotube fiber, provided by the embodiment of the invention, the control of the reaction time of the carbon nanotube fiber precursor in the reaction furnace tube is realized through the transition roller device, the reaction time reduction caused by rapid drafting is avoided, and the yield of the carbon nanotube fiber is maintained; compared with the existing post-treatment technology of the carbon nanotube fiber, the preparation method provided by the embodiment of the invention has the advantages of simple process, high efficiency and low cost.
It should be understood that the above-mentioned embodiments are merely illustrative of the technical concepts and features of the present invention, which are intended to enable those skilled in the art to understand the contents of the present invention and implement the present invention, and therefore, the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereby. All equivalent changes and modifications made according to the spirit of the present invention should be covered within the protection scope of the present invention.