• Textile Coloration and Finishing
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.76-85
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• 2003

In this study, a continuous stabilization process is used to make high-performance carbon fiber from polyacrylonitrile(PAM)-based fibers. The effect of oxygen content of PAN-based fiber on the stabilization process and the properties of the resultant carbon fibers is investigated. In order to research the progress of stabilization reaction FT-IR, elemental analysis, density, DSC, etc are used. Stabilization is carried out in air atmosphere from the 200 to $300^\circ{C}$ temperature range. An increase of PAN-based fibers diameter reduces the oxygen content during the continuous stabilization process. A higher oxygen content increase the density, tensile strength and modulus in the resultant carbon fibers. The most appropriate oxygen content in the stabilized fiber should be about 12%. Fibers having more than 2% oxygen content yield carbon fibers with inferior properties. Those carbon fibers also have sufficient commercial availability.

• Carbon letters
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.11-18
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• 2015

The process of oxidizing polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon fibers converts them into an infusible and non-flammable state prior to carbonization. This represents one of the most important stages in determining the mechanical properties of the final carbon fibers, but the most commonly used methods, such as thermal treatment ($200^{\circ}C$ to $300^{\circ}C$), tend to waste a great deal of process time, money, and energy. There is therefore a need to develop more advanced oxidation methods for PAN precursor fibers. In this review, we assess the viability of electron beam, gamma-ray, ultra-violet, and plasma treatments with a view to advancing these areas of research and their industrial application.

• Carbon letters
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• v.26
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• pp.11-17
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• 2018

Milled carbon fiber (mCF) was prepared by a ball milling process, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) diffractograms were obtained by a $2{\theta}$ continuous scanning analysis to study mCF crystallinity as a function of milling time. The raw material for the mCF was polyacrylonitrile-based carbon fiber (T700). As the milling time increased, the mean particle size of the mCF consistently decreased, reaching $1.826{\mu}m$ at a milling time of 18 h. The XRD analysis showed that, as the milling time increased, the fraction of the crystalline carbon decreased, while the fraction of the amorphous carbon increased. The (002) peak became asymmetric before and after milling as the left side of the peak showed an increasingly gentle slope. For analysis, the asymmetric (002) peak was deconvoluted into two peaks, less-developed crystalline carbon (LDCC) and more-developed crystalline carbon. In both peaks, Lc decreased and $d_{002}$ increased, but no significant change was observed after 6 h of milling time. In addition, the fraction of LDCC increased. As the milling continued, the mCF became more amorphous, possibly due to damage to the crystal lattices by the milling.

• Carbon letters
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.43-48
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• 2007

The influences of various carbonization temperatures on electrical resistivity and morphologies of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based nanofiber webs were studied. The diameter size distribution and morphologies of the nanofiber webs were observed by a scanning electron microscope. The electrical resistivity behaviors of the webs were evaluated by a volume resistivity tester. From the results, the volume resistivity of the carbon webs was ranged from $5.1{\times}10^{-1}\;{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$ to $3.0{\times}10^{-2}\;{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$, and the average diameter of the fiber webs was varied in the range of 310 to 160 nm with increasing the carbonization temperature. These results could be explained that the graphitic region of carbon webs was formed after carbonization at high temperatures. And the amorphous structure of polymeric fiber webs was significantly changed to the graphitic crystalline, resulting in shrinking the size of fiber diameters.

• Carbon letters
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.71-76
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• 2014

Activated carbon nanofibers (ACNF) were prepared from polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based nanofibers using $CO_2$ activation methods with varying activation process times. The surface and structural characteristics of the ACNF were observed by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction, respectively. $N_2$ adsorption isotherm characteristics at 77 K were confirmed by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller and Dubinin-Radushkevich equations. As experimental results, many holes or cavernous structures were found on the fiber surfaces after the $CO_2$ activation as confirmed by scanning electron microscopy analysis. Specific surface areas and pore volumes of the prepared ACNFs were enhanced within a range of 10 to 30 min of activation times. Performance of the porous PAN-based nanofibers as an electrode for electrical double layer capacitors was evaluated in terms of the activation conditions.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.418-423
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• 2022

Carbon fibers (CFs) are considered promising composite materials for various applications. However, the high cost of CFs (as much as $26 per kg) limits their practical use in the automobile and energy industries. In this study, we developed a continuous stabilization process for manufacturing low-cost CFs. We employed a textile-grade polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fiber as a low-cost precursor and UV irradiation technique to shorten the thermal stabilization time. We confirmed that UV irradiation on the textile-grade PAN fibers could lower the initial thermal stabilization temperature and also lead to a higher reaction. These resulted in a shorter overall stabilization time and enhancement of the tensile properties of textile-grade PAN-based CFs. Our study found that only 70 min of stabilization time with UV irradiation was required to prepare textile-grade PAN-based low-cost CFs with a tensile strength of 2.37 ± 0.22 GPa and tensile modulus of 249 ± 5 GPa.

• Carbon letters
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.219-221
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• 2015

In order to study the impact of atmosphere during electron beam irradiation (EBI) of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) precursor fibers, the latter were stabilized by EBI in both air and oxygen atmospheres. Gel-fraction determination indicated that EBI-stabilization under an oxygen atmosphere leads to an enhanced cyclization in the PAN fibers. In the Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analysis, the PAN fibers stabilized by EBI under an oxygen atmosphere exhibited a greater decrease in the peak intensity at 2244 cm⁻¹ (C≡N vibration) and a greater increase in the peak intensity at 1628 cm⁻¹ (C=N absorption) than the corresponding PAN fibers stabilized under an air atmosphere. From the X-ray diffraction analysis it was found that oxygen uptake in PAN fibers leads to an increase in the amorphous region, produced by cyclization.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.12
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• pp.3733-3737
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• 2013

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based ultrafine fibers and carbon fibers were produced by wet-spinning, and the crystal sizes and thermal and mechanical properties of the fibers were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the superfine fibrils in the surfaces of the PAN/polyvinyl acetate (PVA) blend fibers increased slightly with increasing PAN content before removal of the PVA. Differential scanning calorimetry indicated that the PAN and PVA in the blend fibers do not mix and, therefore, each maintains their inherent thermal characteristics. The crystal sizes of the blend fibers prepared by removing PVA with water increased at 5 wt % water. The extent of the reaction of the PAN carbon fibers, as calculated from the FT-IR spectra, is maximized at the stepwise temperature of $230^{\circ}C$, and the density increased significantly above this temperature. The carbon fibers had relatively good mechanical properties, as shown by their tensile strength and modulus values of 2396 MPa and 213 GPa, respectively.

• Journal of Power System Engineering
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.13-19
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• 2017

The effect of heat treatment temperature (HTT) on the mechanical properties of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon fiber had been investigated. The heat treatment on the carbon fiber was conducted under high vacuum atmosphere of $10^{-6}mmHg$, and the range of temperature of $1,000^{\circ}C$ to $2,000^{\circ}C$. As a results, The tensile strength of carbon fiber and carbon fiber composites showed increasing tendency with the rise of heat treatment temperature. And, the shape parameter of Weibull distribution for the strength of carbon single fiber showed an increasing trend until $1,800^{\circ}C$. But the shape parameter of Weibull distribution for the strength of carbon fiber composites showed no clear tendency with the rise of heat treatment temperature. The cause of reinforcement effect of the carbon fiber by the heat treatment was regarded as the carbonization of carbon single fiber.

• Carbon letters
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.26-30
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• 2011

For polyacrylonitrile (PAN) based carbon fiber (CF) process, we developed a lab scale wet spinning line and a continuous tailor-made stabilization system with ten columns for controlling temperature profile. PAN precursor was spun with a different spinning rate. PAN spun fibers were stabilized with a total duration of 45 to 110 min at a given temperature profile. Furthermore, a stabilization temperature profile was varied with the last column temperature from 230 to $275^{\circ}C$. Stabilized fibers were carbonized in nitrogen atmosphere at $1200^{\circ}C$ in a furnace. Morphologies of spun and CFs were observed using optical and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. Tensile properties of resulting CFs were measured. The results revealed that process conditions such as spinning rate, stabilization time, and temperature profile affect microstructure and tensile properties of CFs significantly.