Preparation of reinforced carbon foams with different fillers

Abstract

Carbon foam composites were prepared by a self-foaming method from mesophase pitch using mesocarbon microbeads (MCMBs), PAN based carbon fibers (PAN-CFs) and ZrO2 nanoparticles were used as the fillers for reinforcement. The effects of the fillers on the foaming behavior and the compressive strength were investigated. Results show that ZrO2 nanoparticles produce a larger increase in the compressive strength of the carbon foam than do MCMBs and PAN-CFs. The compressive strength of the carbon foam increases from 7.57 to 31.4 MPa when 30% of the ZrO2 nanoparticles is added to the mesophase pitch. The foam formation obeys the hot-point nucleation mechanism, in which gaseous products released from light hydrocarbons are heated to generate nuclei by localized condensation reaction heat.