(273c) Ultra-Thin Single-Wall Nanotube-Modified Lignin-Based Carbon Fiber with High Mechanical Performance

Lignin is the second most abundant natural material on earth. It is sustainable and low-cost. Therefore, lignin is attracting increasing interest from both academic researchers and industrial developers. One of the most promising applications of lignin is that it can be converted to carbon fibers with a possible high carbon yield and very short thermal conversion duration. In this work, fiber composite consisting of lignin, polyacrylonitrile (PAN), and modified single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were successfully prepared by wet-spinning technology. Varying stresses were loaded onto the fibers during the thermal stabilization and carbonization process resulting in ultra-thin SWCNTs-based carbon fibers (4 µm) with superior mechanical performance and electrical conductivity. Wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), Raman, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) revealed that the appropriate incorporation of modified SWCNTs and optimized stress imposed on the fibers in the thermal stabilization process are beneficial for the orientation and crystallinity of the fiber. This work opens a new direction to sustainably fabricate lignin-based carbon fiber with a small diameter and excellent mechanical performance.