Buckypapers: Applications in Composite Materials

Densely packed carbon nanotube (CNT) thin films are called buckypapers (BPs). In BPs, CNTs are held together in the form of entangled array by van der Waals interactions at the tube–tube junctions. CNTs possesses high electrical and thermal conductivity as well as superior mechanical properties so that they have attracted widespread attention to create functional composite materials. CNT modified functional composites have been widely used in many fields such as electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, heat resistance, and sensor applications. The CNTs should be evenly dispersed within matrix phase or evenly coated on to fabric surface to reach the desired functional properties in composites. However, the tendency to form agglomerates due to their high surface energy makes the dispersion of CNTs in composites can be quite challenging, especially at high CNT contents. Their flexible nature and ease of handling of BPs overcome the dispersion problem of CNTs in composites. Thanks to having outstanding properties such as low density, high electrical and thermal conductivity, BPs are used in wide range of applications in composites. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a comprehensive review of BPs including preparation methods of BPs, morphological properties of BPs, physical properties of BPs, and applications of BPs in composite materials.