Effect of anodization on the graphitization of PAN-based carbon fibers of PAN-based carbon fibers

One-step pretreatment, anodization, is used to activate the polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon fibers instead of the routine two-step pretreatment, sensitization with SnCl2 and activation with PdCl2. The effect of the anodization pretreatment on the graphitization of PAN-based carbon fibers is investigated as a function of Ni-P catalyst. The PAN-based carbon fibers are anodized in H3PO4 electrolyte resulting in the formation of active sites, which thereby facilitates the following electroless Ni-P coating. Carbon fibers in the presence and absence of Ni-P coatings are heat treated and the structural changes are characterized by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy, both of which indicate that the graphitization of PAN-based carbon fibers are accelerated by both the anodization treatment and the catalysts Ni-P. Using the anodized carbon fibers, the routine two-step pretreatment, sensitization and activation, is not needed.