Conversion of cellulosic fibres into carbon fibres: a study of the mechanical properties and correlation with chemical structure

Rayon fibres were pyrolysed under inert gas flows up to 1200 degreesC. Changes in the mechanical properties of the fibres at various stages of the thermal treatment were studied and correlated with structural analyses of the char by CP/MAS C-13 NMR and DRIFT spectroscopies. The force/displacement curve of fibres pyrolysed at 500 degreesC is non-linear but reversible within the deformation, which is approximately 10% at ultimate failure. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.