Influence of Oxygen Uptake on Pitch Carbon Fiber

Abstract

Carbon fiber precursor materials, such as polyacrylonitrile, pitch, and cellulose/rayon, require thermal stabilization to maintain structural integrity during conversion into carbon fiber. Thermal stabilization mitigates undesirable decomposition and liquification of the fibers during the carbonization process. Generally, the thermal stabilization of mesophase pitch consists of the attachment of oxygen‐containing functional groups onto the polymeric structure. In this study, the oxidation of mesophase pitch precursor fibers at various weight percentage increases (1, 3.5, 5, 7.5 wt%) and temperatures (260, 280, 290 °C) using in situ differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis is investigated. The results are analyzed to determine the effect of temperature and weight percentage increase on the stabilization process of the fibers, and the fibers are subsequently carbonized and tested for tensile mechanical performance. The findings provide insight into the relationship between stabilization conditions, fiber microstructure, and mechanical properties of the resulting carbon fibers.

Thermoresponsive Structural Coloration of Hydrogel Fibers

“…Fibers have a wide range of applications in civilian and military areas. With the development of technology, fiber materials are no longer limited to natural plants and animal furs but are further extended to glasses, , semiconductors, , carbon materials, − and polymers. − Fibers are widely colored by chemical dyes, which have many disadvantages such as environmental pollution, chemical disability, and unchangeability. Structural colors, generated by the interaction of incident light and periodic nanostructures, have attracted intense interest recently in a wide range of research fields, such as sensors, − optical encryption, , displays, − etc.…”