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Mechanism of oxidisation of polyacrylonitrile fibres

Abstract

THE first and most important stage of the preparation of high modulus carbon fibres from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) textile fibres is the oxidation of the fibres under tension. This produces an oxidised ladder polymer structure approximately parallel to the fibre axis which may be regarded as the template for the formation of the oriented carbon fibre. The exact structure of this oxidised polymer is not clear although four different ones have been proposed1–4.

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References

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WATT, W., JOHNSON, W. Mechanism of oxidisation of polyacrylonitrile fibres. Nature 257, 210–212 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1038/257210a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/257210a0

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