Fabrications and structural characterization of ultra-fine carbon fibres by electrospinning of polymer blends

Abstract

Here we demonstrated the ability to fabricate ultra-fine carbon fibres through electrospinning of the polymer blends of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and polyamic acid (PAA) and subsequent thermal treatment. The good spinnability of the polymer blends was achieved by reducing the solution’s viscosity by the addition of PAN. There was a close correlation between the fibre diameter developed in the spinning process and the physical properties of the carbonized fibres; the smaller diameter fibre gave rise to the higher crystallinity of the single carbonized fibre and, furthermore, a higher electrical conductivity and mechanical strength of the carbonized fibre web. The high anisotropy in the mechanical strength of the carbonized fibre webs was ascribed to the partial alignment of the resulting fibres along the winding direction through the electrospinning process.