• Ultrafast laser processing in air enables surface structuring of CNT buckypapers. • Periodic structures formed on disordered CNT macrostructures. • Surface densification, confined to the surface layer, preserves bulk CNT network. • Defected sp 2 carbonaceous species formed via femtosecond laser from CNTs. • Laser-induced surface reorganization yields aligned carbon architectures. Randomly assembled carbon nanotubes under the form of macroscopic structures such as free-standing, conductive and flexible films (or buckypapers) are of great interest for a wide range of applications. However, compared to the intrinsic properties of individual carbon nanotubes, those of buckypapers are substantially reduced due to its highly disordered architecture, weak inter-tube interactions and unavoidable sliding of nanotubes within the buckypaper network. Here we investigate the use of ultrafast laser treatment approach to overcome these buckypaper limitations. While ultrafast laser irradiation is rarely reported for macroscopic assemblies of carbon nanotubes, the used wavelength in near infrared 1030 nm with a power range of 100 – 180 mW leads to an interesting periodic surface structuring: the so-called laser induced periodic surface structures or LIPSS widely reported for various other materials. The results indicate that the laser treatment affects the buckypaper only within a surface layer (over ∼ 300 nm for a laser power of 140 mW), preserving the inner bulk CNT network. The nanostructured upper-crust formed at the buckypaper surface consists of a densified carbonaceous composite. Our findings reveal that applying ultrafast laser to buckypaper surface could offer an alternative approach in engineering buckypapers and open future research opportunities.
Bouzroud et al. (Fri,) studied this question.
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