Catalytic graphitization of carbon fibers with electrodeposited Ni–B alloy coating

Catalytic graphitization of carbon fibers with electrodeposited Ni–B alloy coating was studied. Carbon fibers with and without electrodeposited Ni–B coating were heat treated at different temperatures and the structural changes were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results show that much better graphitization can be achieved for carbon fibers at lower heat treatment temperature (HTT) when the Ni–B coating is present. Moreover, the degree of graphitization of the Ni–B-coated carbon fibers increases with the increasing of B content in the Ni–B coating at the same HTT. The mechanism of catalytic graphitization was discussed.