Fabrication of metal-containing carbon fibre based on modified polycarproamide fibre

Fabrication of elementary carbon fibre materials based on graft copolymers of polycaproamide and poly(dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) was investigated. The possibility of complexation of the graft polymer with Cu2+ and VO2+ ions was demonstrated and the catalytic activity of the metal complexes obtained in thermooxidation and carbonization of modified PCA was established. It was found that thermooxidation of modified PCA fibre in the presence of copper- and vanadium-containing compounds results in a nonthermoplastic polymer in softer conditions (with respect to the duration of heat treatment) in comparison to the same process without the corresponding treatment of the fibre. The effect of copper- and vanadium-containing compounds on thermooxidation and carbonization of PCA-PDMAEMA graft copolymers results in a nonbrittle, elementary carbon fibre material with a yield of up to 24–28 wt. %, a 72–80 wt. % concentration of carbon, and 14–16% concentration of the metal.