Improvement in the properties of PAN-based carbon films by modification with cobaltous chloride

✍ Scribed by Tse-Hao Ko; Chien-Yuan Chen

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 167 KB
• Volume: 74
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0021-8995
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-4628(19991114)74:7<1745::aid-app17>3.0.co;2-k

✦ Synopsis

Carbon films were developed from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) modified with cobalt chloride. The modification was carried out by immersing PAN in a 5% cobaltous chloride (CoCl 2 ) solution at 90°C for 5 min, oven-dried, and then manufactured into films. The original and modified PAN films were oxidized at 220°C for 2 and 6 h in air, respectively, and finally carbonized at 1300°C. The density, microstructure, elemental analyzer, electrical conductivity, and morphology were all studied. According to the results, it was found that films modified with cobalt chloride have a greater stacking height of carbon-layer planes (L c ), density, electrical conductivity, and nitrogen content after carbonization. Moreover, during the carbonization stage, the cobalt ions promote a catalytic action. The carbon films developed from the modified film not only improved electrical conductivity by 12-38%, but also increased tensile strength by 29 -36% and the tensile modulus by 69 -110%. Therefore, carbon films having better mechanical properties can be obtained after such modification.