Abstract

Carbon nanotube (CNT) is a very fascinating material with outstanding properties suitable for various applications. In this review the importance of CNTs as ballistic materials are discussed, starting from various application of CNTs in textile industries and the utilization of CNTs in different ways to make composites for ballistic protection i.e dispersion of CNTs in polymer matrix which is used as impregnation of ballistic fabrics, growth of CNTs on ballistic fabrics and finally CNTs based fabrics. Some recent work carried out by various researchers in this field is also discussed. It has been found that only few layers of CNT fabrics can replace the several layers of ballistic fabrics and this will help in reducing the weight of existing ballistic protective fabrics significantly without hampering their performance.

Keywords: Carbon nanotubes;CNT fabrics; Protective fabrics; Polymer matrix; High performance fabric