Manufacturing of Pitch Based Carbon Fibers through Microwave Treatments. (September 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ge, Lin; Zafar, Talha; Wong, Danny; Park, Simon S.
• Is Part Of: Manufacturing letters. Volume 33(2022)Supplement
• Page Start: 95
• Page End: 102
• Publication Date: 2022-09
• Subjects: carbon fiber -- microwave -- post-treatment -- pitch; Manufacturing industries -- Periodicals; Production engineering -- Periodicals; Manufacturing industries; Periodicals; 670
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mfglet.2022.07.046
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2213-8463

Abstract

Abstract: Carbon fibers (CFs) are characterized by their excellent mechanical properties including high tensile strength and elastic modulus. In terms of manufacturing of CFs, the conventional thermal treatment processes, including stabilization and carbonization, account for at least 46% of the cost, which drastically restricts the widespread application of CFs. This study investigates the use of mesophase pitch-based CFs from different synthetic approaches based on the conventional thermal post-treatment versus microwave hybrid post-treatment processes. CFs were studied by using SEM, FTIR, TGA, XRD, and mechanical properties characterization. Compared with the CFs prepared from the conventional thermal post-treatment process (CFs-T), those by the microwave thermal hybrid post-treatment process (CFs-M) show similar crystalline degree which is confirmed by XRD analysis. The tensile strength and modulus of the CFs-T are 0.290 and 38.6 GPa, and those of the CFs-M are 0.176 and 18.5 GPa, respectively. Microwave treatment is expected to be a much more energy- and time-efficient way for CFs post-treatment and can serve as a potential alternative to the conventional thermal post-treatment process used in carbon fiber manufacturing. Implications of the findings, including the oxygen diffusion, and crystalline structure are highlighted and discussed.