PAN Precursor Carbon Fibre Manufacturing Process
topic
PAN precursor carbon fibre manufacture involves wet or dry-jet wet spinning of polyacrylonitrile copolymer solution, stabilisation oxidation in air at 200 to 300 degrees Celsius converting the thermoplastic precursor to a thermoset ladder polymer, low-temperature carbonisation at 1000 to 1500 degrees Celsius removing non-carbon elements, and optional high-temperature graphitisation at 2000 to 3000 degrees Celsius increasing graphitic order and elastic modulus.
Role
Defines the dominant industrial carbon fibre production route accounting for over 90 percent of global carbon fibre output, where careful control of precursor molecular weight, copolymer composition, spinning conditions, tension during thermal treatment, and heat treatment temperature profile determines the final carbon fibre microstructural perfection and resulting mechanical property combination.