Mechanical properties of PAN-derived carbon nanofibers for polymer nanocomposites

A. Arshad, I. Chasiotis

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

To date nanofiber-based composites have been fabricated with randomly dispersed vapor grown carbon nanofibers (VGCNF)s and carbon nanotubes. Ordered carbon nanofibers as fabricated from electrospinning of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) pre-cursors are alternatives to randomly dispersed nanofibers. In this study, the mechanical properties of individual PAN-derived carbon nanofibers were measured as a function of carbonization temperature and nanofiber diameter. The carbonization temperature was varied between 800-1100 °C to quantify its effect on the fiber tensile strength. The resulting carbon nanofibers had smooth surfaces while remaining as aligned as the pre-cursor electrospun PAN nanofibers. The microscale tensile experiments on individual carbon nanofibers were conducted with the aid of microfabricated (MEMS) testing devices. The tested carbon nanofibers were tens of microns in length and 200-450 nm in diameter. Their failure strength increased with the carbonization temperature as it was expected for heat-treated carbon. The tensile strengths of nanofibers carbonized at 800°C and 1100°C followed Weibull distributions with Weibull moduli between 5 and 6, which indicates an average scatter of the defect sizes in the fibers.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publication24th Annual Technical Conference of the American Society for Composites 2009 and 1st Joint Canadian-American Technical Conference on Composites
Pages1499-1505
Number of pages7
StatePublished - 2009
Event24th Annual Technical Conference of the American Society for Composites 2009 and 1st Joint Canadian-American Technical Conference on Composites - Newark, DE, United States
Duration: Sep 15 2009Sep 17 2009

Publication series

Name24th Annual Technical Conference of the American Society for Composites 2009 and 1st Joint Canadian-American Technical Conference on Composites
Volume3

Other

Other24th Annual Technical Conference of the American Society for Composites 2009 and 1st Joint Canadian-American Technical Conference on Composites
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityNewark, DE
Period9/15/099/17/09

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ceramics and Composites

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