Asphaltene-Based Discontinuous Carbon Fiber

The requirements for affordable feedstock, reduced production time, and cost-effective manufacturing are some of the key challenges in carbon fiber (CF) production. Notably, the high cost of petroleum-based polyacrylonitrile feedstock remains a primary obstacle in this field. This study explores the potential of asphaltene, a crude oil byproduct having high aromaticity, as an economical alternative feedstock for CF production enabled by a solution processing fiber production technique utilizing the extensional properties of the polymeric solution. The CFs produced from the asphaltene-based precursor display an average diameter of 3.5 ± 1.6 μm. Tensile tests on single short CFs reveal an ultimate tensile strength of 283.9 ± 92.2 MPa and an elastic modulus of 20.9 ± 5.4 GPa, indicating their suitability for a wide range of material applications.