Accelerating the stabilization of polyacrylonitrile fibers by UV irradiation

  • Su Young Son
  • , A. Young Jo
  • , Gun Young Jung
  • , Yong Sik Chung
  • , Sungho Lee*
  • *Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

Abstract

Commercial polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers, widely used as carbon fiber precursors, were treated with ultraviolet (UV) light without any photo-initiators and its effects on the structural changes of PAN were investigated. Easily accessible UV irradiation produced free radicals by breaking the C–H bonding in PAN, leading to reducing cyclization temperature and activation energy. Dynamic mechanical analysis indicated a decrease in storage modulus of PAN fibers with increasing UV irradiation time below glass transition temperature. It is suggested that UV irradiation and the subsequent thermal treatment could offer an efficient stabilization by reducing the cyclization temperature and process time.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)47-51
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
Volume73
DOIs
StatePublished - 2019.05.25

Keywords

  • Dynamic mechanical analysis
  • Polyacrylonitrile
  • Stabilization
  • Thermal properties
  • Ultraviolet irradiation

Quacquarelli Symonds(QS) Subject Topics

  • Engineering - Chemical

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