Microwave makes carbon nanotubes less defective.

An ultrafast microwave annealing process has been developed to reduce the defect density in vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Raman and thermogravimetric analyses have shown a distinct defect reduction in the CNTs annealed in microwave for 3 min. Fibers spun from the as-annealed CNTs, in comparison with those from the pristine CNTs, show increases of approximately 35% and approximately 65%, respectively, in tensile strength ( approximately 0.8 GPa) and modulus (approximately 90 GPa) during tensile testing; an approximately 20% improvement in electrical conductivity (approximately 80000 S m(-1)) was also reported. The mechanism of the microwave response of CNTs was discussed.