Disclosed in the present disclosure are a self-fused graphene fiber and a method of preparing the same. Dried graphene oxide fibers are soaked in a solvent to swell and then the fibers are pulled out and coalesced. After being dried, the graphene oxide fibers are fused together, and then are further reduced to obtain a self-fused graphene fiber. The entire self-fusion process can be quickly finished within one minute without adding any additional binder. The operation is simple and time-saving. The process is environmentally friendly; the bond strength is high, and the excellent properties such as outstanding mechanical strength and electrical conductivity of the graphene fibers themselves can be maintained. The present disclosure has great research and application value for further preparation of two-dimensional graphene fabrics or three-dimensional network bulks with excellent performance.

An insulated nanofiber having a continuous nanofiber collection extending along a longitudinal axis with an outside surface and an inside portion is described. A first material infiltrates the inside portion, where the outside surface of the nanofiber collection is substantially free of the first material. An electrically-insulating second material coats the outside surface of the nanofiber collection. A method of making an insulated nanofiber collection is also disclosed.

A sizing agent for carbon fibers includes 2 to 30 parts by weight of a resin main agent (A) having at least one epoxy compound, 2 to 30 parts by weight of a resin main agent (B) having at least one acrylate compound, 0.5 to 15 parts by weight of a surfactant (C), 0.01 to 0.5 parts by weight of a hindered phenol agent (D), and a balance of a solvent, in which a particle diameter of the sizing agent is in a range from 0.01 to 0.5 μm.

Provided is a method for splitting a carbon fiber tow, which comprises heating a carbon fiber tow sized with a first sizing material to soften the first sizing material and form a spread carbon fiber tow; passing the spread carbon fiber tow through at least one splitter and corresponding cutter to obtain multiple carbon fiber strands spaced apart; and sizing the carbon fiber strands with a second sizing material. With the method, multiple small carbon fiber tows having better tensile strength and/or modulus than the commercially available small carbon fiber tow products can be obtained. Products made of the small carbon fiber tows obtained by the present invention are lighter but stronger, and the production cost is relatively reduced. The present invention also achieves the purpose of energy saving and carbon reduction.

By sequentially performing: a step (I) of dissolving fullerene C.sub.60 in a polyalkylene glycol to prepare a fullerene solution; a step (II) of immersing a material carbon fiber in the fullerene solution; and a step (III) of extracting the carbon fiber from the fullerene solution, washing the extracted carbon fiber with water, and drying the carbon fiber washed with water, a carbon fiber on which fullerene C.sub.60 adsorbs is obtained.

The present disclosure provides compositions including a carbon fiber material comprising one or more of dibromocyclopropyl or polysilazane disposed thereon; and a thermosetting polymer or a thermoplastic polymer. The present disclosure further provides metal substrates including a composition of the present disclosure disposed thereon. The present disclosure further provides vehicle components including a metal substrate of the present disclosure. The present disclosure further provides methods for manufacturing a vehicle component, including contacting a carbon fiber material with a polysilazane or a dibromocarbene to form a coated carbon fiber material; and mixing the coated carbon fiber material with a thermosetting polymer or a thermoplastic polymer to form a composition. Methods can further include depositing a composition of the present disclosure onto a metal substrate.

A manufacturing method and an apparatus enable high productivity. A method for manufacturing an oxidized fiber bundle includes joining an upstream precursor fiber bundle and a downstream precursor fiber bundle together with a joining fiber bundle, and oxidizing the joined precursor fiber bundles by feeding the joined precursor fiber bundles through an oxidization furnace. The joining includes applying an oiling agent to a joint area of a joining target precursor fiber bundle before joining the joining target precursor fiber bundle and the joining fiber bundle together. A quantity of the oiling agent adhering to the joint area is 0.15 to 0.85 wt %.

A fiber comprises a bulk material comprising: one or more of carbon, silicon, boron, silicon carbide, and boron nitride; and a metal or metal alloy whose affinity for oxygen is greater than that of the bulk material. At least a first portion of the metal or metal alloy is present at the entrance to grain boundaries at the surface of the fiber and within the fiber to a depth of at least 1 micron from the fiber surface. A method of improving a fiber comprises heating a fiber in an inert atmosphere to 900-1300 C for sufficient time to allow at least some of a metal or metal alloy, placed on the fiber, to diffuse and/or flow into and along grain boundaries to a depth of at least 1 micron. The metal or metal alloy has a greater affinity for oxygen than that of the fiber bulk material.

A multifunctional smart garment textile is disclosed herein. It comprises plural conductive yarns, wherein each of the plural conductive yarns includes cotton threads, multiwalled carbon nanotubes and iodine-modified polypyrrole, and wherein the cotton threads, the multiwalled carbon nanotubes and the iodine-modified polypyrrole are intermingled with each other in a weight ratio ranging from 1:1:1 to 3:1:1.

[Problem] To provide a reinforcing fiber bundle that can maintain a good opening state of reinforcing fibers and that can produce a fiber-reinforced composite having excellent mechanical strength; a reinforcing fiber woven fabric using the same; a carbon fiber reinforcing composite using the same; and methods for producing the same. [Solution] A reinforcing fiber bundle comprising a plurality of reinforcing fibers is produced, the reinforcing fiber bundle having a cross-linking portion comprising a carbon allotrope between the reinforcing fibers.