New composite materials can be used in ultra-efficient motors

Scientists have used a new technique to create a copper/carbon nanotube composite 10 cm long and 4 cm wide, according to the official website of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.This material can increase the current capacity of copper wire and can be scaled. It is a new material for ultra-efficient and high-power density motors.

Carbon nanotubes are reported to be light in weight, strong in strength and have excellent electrical conductivity. Adding them to copper matrix to improve electrical conductivity and mechanical properties is not a new idea.However, in the past studies, the composite material length is very short, only micron or millimeter scale, limited scalability, or its long length but poor performance.

In this study, the scientists deposited and lined up carbon nanotubes on flat copper substrates, resulting in a metal-based composite with better current handling and mechanical properties than copper alone.The researchers then coated the top of the nanotubes with a copper film using magnetron sputtering, a vacuum coating technique, and annealed the samples in a vacuum furnace to form a dense, uniform copper layer, resulting in a highly conductive copper/carbon nanotube network.

The results showed that the current capacity and mechanical properties of the composite increased by 14% and 20% respectively.

The study aims to promote the widespread use of electric vehicles, such as reducing costs and improving or extending the performance and life of electric motors and electronic components.The material can be used in any component that USES copper, including more efficient busbars and smaller connectors for electric vehicle traction inverters, as well as wireless and wired charging systems.