WAXD/SAXS study and 2D fitting (SAXS) of the microstructural evolution of PAN-based carbon fibers during the pre-oxidation and carbonization process

Microstructural evolution in polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers at different temperatures during pre-oxidation and carbonization under stretching was studied by synchrotron wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Microvoids were characterized by the classical SAXS method, and were compared with simulation results obtained by fitting 2D SAXS patterns to a model based on a dilute system of cylindrical microvoids randomly distributed and preferentially orientated along the fiber axis and having a log-normal size distribution. The WAXD results showed that the crystal size, d-spacing and preferred orientation decreased during pre-oxidation, and increased during carbonization. A diffraction peak for PAN fibers at 2θ=13.6° disappeared during the final stage of pre-oxidation, meanwhile a new peak at 2θ=23.6° appeared, whose intensity increased during carbonization, indicating the formation of the graphite structure. The average length of the microvoids increased, and new microvoids were formed, which became oriented along the fiber axis as the fiber manufacturing process proceeded. The length of microvoids from simulation results is consistent with that from the classical method, indicating that the model is valid to describe the microvoid structure of fibers.