Cytec Industries Inc.

Longgui Tang

Billy D Harmon

Alan D Thomas

Shao C Chiu

Thomas Baker Taylor

John Desmond Cook

Suzanne Crawford

Girish Vishnukant Deshpande

Barry DeWayne Meece

The present disclosure relates generally to carbon fibers having high tensile strength and modulus of elasticity, as well as a process for the manufacture of such carbon fiber. The process comprises spinning a polymer/solvent solution into a solvent/water bath in the range of 78%-85% solvent, thereby producing a dense fiber structure, and subsequently carbonizing the polymer precursor fiber at a lower than typical carbonization temperature to form carbon fibers.

Manufacture of intermediate modulus carbon fiber

A method for synthesizing polyacrylonitrile (PAN) polymer with a narrow molecular weight distribution is disclosed. The preferred PAN polymer has a PDI (Mw/Mn) of about 2 or less. Such PAN polymer is synthesized by controlled/living radical polymerization using a special RAFT (Reversible Addition-Fragmentation Chain Transfer) agent. Also disclosed is a method for producing carbon fibers from PAN polymer with low PDI.

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) polymers with low polydispersity index (PDI) and carbon fibers made therefrom

Method for producing carbon fibers from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) polymers with low polydispersity index (PDI)

Various embodiments directed towards methods of applying sizing to fibers are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, solvent can be used to dissolve a sizing material into a solution, which can then be used to coat the fibers. In some embodiments, a water bath is used to coagulate a sizing on the fiber surface and to remove the remove solvent after coating the fibers, so that water vapor can be created during a subsequent drying step as opposed to solvent vapors. In some embodiments, strong acids or strong bases can be used as the solvent.

Method for manufacturing sized carbon fibers for composite applications

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Greenville, SC, United States of America

Longgui Tang