Crystal-like growth of a metal oxide/CNT composite fiber with electroplated "seed" from a CNT-dispersed nonaqueous electrolyte.

A fabrication technique is developed for the preparation of metal oxide/CNT composites. An essential feature of the technique lies in the use of nonaqueous electrolyte in place of the usual aqueous electrolyte, which ensures well-dispersed CNTs without surfactants. After a "seed" is formed by electroplating on the anode, the seed is simply pulled up at a certain speed to grow a 1D CNT composite structure. The technique leads to a uniform distribution of metal oxide and a high weight fraction of CNT in the composite structure. Moreover, the conductivity of the composite is much higher than that of the CNT fibers fabricated with polymer.