Early stages on the graphitization of electrostatically generated PAN nanofibers

Carbon nanofibers were produced from polyacrylonitrile/N, N-Dimethyl Formamide (PAN/DMF) precursor solution using electrospinning and vacuum pyrolysis at temperatures from 773 K to 1273 K for 0.5, 2, and 5 hours, respectively. Their conductance was measured. It was found that the conductivity increases sharply with the pyrolysis temperature, and increases considerably with pyrolysis time at the lower pyrolysis temperatures of 873, 973 and 1073 K, but varies, less obviously, with pyrolysis time at the higher pyrolysis temperatures of 1173 and 1273 K.