Effect of tension during stabilization on carbon fiber multifunctionality for structural battery composites

Abstract

Here we demonstrate carbon fibers with tailorable multifunctional properties for energy storage composites. Carbon fibers made from the same precursor but with different processing tensions are investigated. The applied tension during the stabilization/oxidation stage of fiber manufacturing determines the microstructure and the resulting mechanical and electrochemical performance. Understanding of the interconnected effects enables tailoring of fibers to function as electrodes in structural battery composites. The study reveals that both amorphous and crystalline phases affect the electrochemical capacity, as higher capacity is achieved by larger d-spacing as well as higher void content. Further, the study confirms the trade-off between high tensile strength and high electrochemical capacity that needs to be taken into consideration when designing multifunctional carbon fibers.