Thermal Stabilization of Acrylic Precursors for the Production of Carbon Fibers: An Overview

Carbon fiber is a unique space-age material with very high strength and stiffness. As an engineering material it is fast replacing metal components because of its excellent properties such as low density, very high specific strength and stiffness, low coefficient of thermal expansion, and outstanding fatigue characteristics. Carbon fibers are therefore finding increasing use in a variety of applications, viz., automobile manufacturing, aircraft and space, nuclear technology, chemical engineering, biomedical, sports, super conductors, and as electrodes for high-energy-density fuel [1–6].