Developing a New Polyolefin Precursor for Low-Cost, High-Strength Carbon Fiber
Current high-strength carbon fibers (CFs) are mostly derived from PAN polymer precursor, which are very expensive with limited usage in the high-end products. On the other hand, it has also stimulated research interest to develop new low-cost precursors and manufacturing process. Despite numerous studies, researchers have yet to develop a new polymeric precursor that is less expensive, melt-spinnable, and offers a high C-yield. In this three-year R&D project, we proposed three consecutive research phases, including (i) the development of new polyolefin-based precursors that can be thermally transformed to C material in one heating step under inert atmosphere and achieved a C-yield >80%, which is more than 60% higher than that of current PAN precursor, (ii) With the suitable new polyolefin-based precursor, we can focus on CF manufacturing process, including fiber spinning, stabilization, and carbonization, to form high quality carbon fibers with the desirable polymorphous morphology, and (iii) the investigation of thermal conversion process under tension for converting polyolefin-based precursor fibers to high tensile strength carbon fibers with specific graphite crystallite size, orientation of basal line, order-disorder ratio, fiber diameter, and reduced structural defect (voids). composites.
- Research Organization:
- Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Transportation Office. Fuel Cell Technologies Office
- DOE Contract Number:
- EE0008096
- OSTI ID:
- 1808293
- Report Number(s):
- DOE-PSU-8096
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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