Significant reduction in stabilization temperature and improved mechanical/electrical properties of pitch-based carbon fibers by electron beam irradiation

• An E-beam irradiation was introduced in the stabilization during production of carbon fibers.
• The E-beam irradiated pitch fibers were stabilized at a lower temperature and its SI was more than 90%.
• The mechanical property of carbon fibers treated with E-beam in their stabilization process was improved by 2.5 times.

Carbon fibers are produced using an electron beam, which can reduce the temperature and time in their stabilization processes compared with the existing processes that use heat treatment. Pitch fibers with a stabilization index (SI) of more than 90% are obtained under a lower heat treatment temperature after an electron beam irradiation of 3000 kGy. It is contributed that electron beam irradiation facilitates dehydrogenation and the introduction of oxygen. Carbon fibers stabilized under the conditions of 3000 kGy and 250 °C show 563 MPa and 69 GPa for tensile strength and Young's modulus, respectively. In addition, the electrical conductivity of carbon fibers is approximately 600 S/cm with SI of more than 84%. Therefore, the electron beam reduces the time and energy required to stabilize the pitch fibers, and electron beam-treated carbon fibers show excellent tensile strength and electrical conductivity.

An E-beam increases radicals formation that provide oxygen to stabilize pitch fibers with more reactive sites, which showed a higher stabilization index and physical properties of carbon fibers.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide