A novel method for determination of occurrence order of stabilization reactions in carbon fiber precursor

Abstract

Thermal stabilization is an important step in production of carbon fiber from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) precursors. During thermal stabilization step different thermochemical reactions take place almost simultaneously. Understanding the onset and temperature range of the stabilization reactions is a key for adjusting processing parameters such as tension, stretching, etc. However, stabilization reactions are very complex and overlap with each other. In order to separate the stabilization reactions, we combined the results of different thermal analysis techniques, namely Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Thermogravimetry (TGA) and Thermomechanical Analysis (TMA), to study behaviour of PAN precursors during stabilization. By means of combining the results of these techniques, we were able to determine the temperature range and occurrence order of each of stabilization reactions regardless of the composition of initial PAN fibers and history of fiber formation.