Surface spectroscopic analysis of vapour grown carbon fibres prepared under various conditions Original Research Article

Vapour grown carbon fibres (VGCF) were produced from methane, hydrogen sulphide, ammonia and iron pentacarbonyl as catalyst in a semi-continuous process. The influence of the feedstock composition and different post-reaction treatments on the surface chemistry was investigated by surface spectroscopic methods. Surface oxygen groups and active forms of carbon on the fibre surface which are important for the fibre-polymer interaction were quantified by O1s and C1s ESCA. The surface oxygen concentration of VGCF was lower than that of polyacrylonitrilo (PAN) and pitch-based carbon fibres. The chemical nature of the surface oxygen was also different. By an oxidation treatment of the VGCF, the amount of surface oxygen was considerably increased and its chemical nature becomes closer to that of other carbon fibres.