Carbon fiber (CF) is an advanced material characterized by its lightweight, high strength and excellent heat resistance, with numerous applications. CF production is predominantly based on the polyacrylonitrile (PAN) precursor due to the high tensile strength of PAN-based CFs (PAN-CFs). However, PAN-CF production requires organic solvents. Additionally, the thermal stabilization process is highly energy-intensive, resulting in high CO2 emissions.
Molecular designed aqueous polyacrylamide (aquaPAM®~{*1}) fiber, prepared via polymerization and dry spinning using water, is proposed as a water-soluble CF precursor that can be converted into high-performance CF with high carbon yields~{*2}. Incorporating small amounts of catalyst into aquaPAM considerably reduces thermal stabilization time and increases carbon yield compared to PAN-CF production.
Furthermore, carbonized aquaPAM-based CFs exhibit tensile strength and modulus comparable to those of PAN-CFs, and the developed process generates fewer CO2 emissions than PAN-CF production.
*1 aquaPAM is a trademark of Toyota Central R&D Labs, Inc.
*2 Jointly developed with Toyota Motor Corporation
Carbon fiber production process using aquaPAM®