ABSTRACT
Carbon nanotube (CNT) is a one-dimensional allotrope of carbon with a cylindrical nanostructure. These cylindrical carbon nanostructures possess uncommon properties that are valuable for electronics, optics, nanotechnology, and other field of material science and technology. Owing to their unprecedented mechanical strength and modulus, they have been used as nanofiller for various high-performance, lightweight structural composite applications. But, due to their high aspect ratio, they are generally associated with agglomeration, improper adhesion, and lack of orientation. To overcome the problem of agglomeration at higher loading, thin free-standing networks are employed as reinforcement nowadays. Undoubtedly, it enhances the loading more than 60% in composite. But due to their random orientation, properties of CNTs are not fully exploited by adopting conventional methods and scopes are still left for further improvement. Therefore, aligned CNT-reinforced composites are prepared by various techniques. The aligned CNTs lead to tensile isotropy in nanocomposite with the best tensile properties being achieved along the direction of alignment. Herein, effect of oriented CNT network-reinforced polymer composites on various mechanical properties is discussed. This chapter consists of intense discussion on major challenges involved during the synthesis of oriented CNT network and its reinforced composites. Finally, the future scope of oriented CNT network-reinforced composites structure for various applications will be enlightened in this chapter.
