An Introduction to Carbon Nanofiber

Summary

The development of carbon fibers dates back as early as the 18th century but its applications were only realized after 1960, making it possible to develop carbon fibers with high strength. The process of synthesis of carbon fibers is patented and each company has its own trade secret. The synthesis process of the most popular carbon fibers prepared from polyacrylonitrile precursor is discussed. Catalytic chemical vapor deposition is the foremost commercial technique for the fabrication of carbon nanofiber (CNF) as well as CNT. This is a batch process. This technique also produces CMF known as vapor‐grown carbon nanofiber. Electrical conductivity in CNF/polymer composites depends upon the nature of the network and their alignment in the matrix. Though many studies are being conducted with CNFs, some studies have indicated that there are health hazards associated with CNFs especially due to their sizes.