Abstract
Currently, carbon fibers (CFs) from the solution spinning, air oxidation, and carbonization of polyacrylonitrile impose a lower price limit of ≈$10 per lb, limiting the growth in industrial and automotive markets. Polyethylene is a promising precursor to enable a high-volume industrial grade CF as it is low cost, melt spinnable and has high carbon content. However, sulfonated polyethylene (SPE)-derived CFs have thus far fallen short of the 200 GPa tensile modulus threshold for industrial applicability. Here, a graphitization process is presented catalyzed by the addition of boron that produces carbon fiber with >400 GPa tensile modulus at 2400 °C. Wide angle X-ray diffraction collected during carbonization reveals that the presence of boron reduces the onset of graphitization by nearly 400 °C, beginning around 1200 °C. The B-doped SPE-CFs herein attain 200 GPa tensile modulus and 2.4 GPa tensile strength at the practical carbonization temperature of 1800 °C.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | 1701926 |
| Journal | Small |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 36 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 27 2017 |
Funding
This work received funding support from the 21st Century Jobs Trust Fund received through the Michigan Strategic Fund from the State of Michigan (Grant No. DOC-2868). The authors thank Amit Naskar, Marcus Hunt, and Rodney Lomax at the Oak Ridge National Lab for supporting some preliminary high-temperature graphitization needs. ASPUN is a registered trademark of The Dow Chemical Company.
Keywords
- boron catalysis
- carbon fibers
- graphitization
- sulfonation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biotechnology
- Biomaterials
- General Chemistry
- General Materials Science