Pitch based carbon fibers for automotive body and electrodes

Pitch is an attractive raw material for carbon fiber precursors due to its low cost stemming from its availability as a residue of coking and petroleum processes. Ford Motor Company reported a carbon fiber target price of $11.0/kg by using a fast cycle-time manufacturing method with carbon fiber in an inexpensive format, allowing for an average retail price of gasoline of $3.58/gallon. They also recommended the use of carbon fiber with strength of 1700 MPa, modulus of 170 GPa, and 1.5% elongation. This study introduced a ca. 5.5 μm carbon fiber with 2000 MPa tensile strength obtained from a precursor through simple distillation of petroleum residue. Petroleum pitch based carbon nanofibers prepared via electrospinning were characterized and potential applications were introduced on the basis of their large specific surface area and relatively high electrical conductivity.