The study and research of carbon nanotubes represents an ever growing and immensely important area, especially in the field of mechanical reinforcement. The unique mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes, namely their high strength and stiffness, could lead to their use in the creation of composite materials. This may lead to a large increase in their mechanical properties.

However, the purification of arc discharge nanotubes is a great problem due to the large amount of amorphous graphitic material simultaneously created in the discharge process. Despite the variety of different methods for nanotube purification there is still a great demand for a cost effective nanotube purification procedure. The aim of our work was to develop and optimise new method of purification and modification of MWNTs, which would provide an access to high purity and homogeneity of the final nanotube product. Our new approach is based on the modified one-step process of purification and generation of polymer (Kevlar) coated nanotube composites using Kevlar solution in the mixture of nitric and sulphuric acids. This technique has provided a single simple step for purification method for arc-discharge nanotubes and formation of a strong polymer coating. As a result new potentially very strong Kevlar-nanotube composite materials have been developed and characterised by a variety of techniques including Raman Spectroscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy (see figure below for TEM images). We believe that new nanocomposites have a great potential as additives for the plastic reinforcement.

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1. The effect of solvent choice on the mechanical and morphological properties of carbon nanotube-polymer composites.