Stabilization and Carbonization of Gel Spun Polyacrylonitrile/Single Wall Carbon Nanotube Composite Fibers

Abstract

Gel spun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and PAN/single wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) composite fibers have been stabilized in air and subsequently carbonized in argon at 1100 degrees C. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and infrared spectroscopy suggests that the presence of single wall carbon nanotube affects PAN stabilization. Carbonized PAN/SWNT fibers exhibited 10 to 30 nm diameter fibrils embedded in brittle carbon matrix, while the control PAN carbonized under the same conditions exhibited brittle fracture with no fibrils. High resolution transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy suggests the existence of well-developed graphitic regions in carbonized PAN/SWNT and mostly disordered carbon in carbonized PAN. Tensile modulus and strength of the carbonized fibers were as high as 250 N/tex and 1.8 N/tex for the composite fibers and 168 N/tex and 1.1 N/tex for the control PAN based carbon fibers, respectively. The addition of 1 wt% carbon nanotubes enhanced the carbon fiber modulus by 49% and strenath bv 64%.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 01, 2007
Accession Number
ADA465660

Entities

People

  • Asif Rasheed
  • Han G. Chae
  • Marilyn L. Minus
  • Satish Kumar

Organizations

  • Georgia Tech

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Carbon Fibers
  • Carbon Nanotubes
  • Composite Materials
  • Diameters
  • Electron Microscopes
  • Electron Microscopy
  • Fibers
  • Graphitic Materials
  • High Resolution
  • Mechanical Properties
  • Microscopes
  • Microscopy
  • Spectroscopy
  • Tensile Modulus
  • Tensile Properties
  • Tensile Strength
  • Transmission Electron Microscopy

Fields of Study

  • Materials science

Readers

  • Nanocomposite Materials Science
  • Reinforced Composite Materials

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics