Characterizations of crystalline structure and electrical properties of pyrolyzed polyfurfuryl alcohol

Abstract

Polyfurfuryl alcohol (PFA) is pyrolyzed at 600 °C for different lengths of heat-treatment (HT) time (0–50 h) and at different pyrolytic temperatures (600–850 °C) for 4 h. Analysis by Raman spectroscopy shows that the crystallite size of PFA pyrolyzed at 600 °C decreases with increasing HT time. This suggestion is supported by the electrical conductivity measurements on PFA samples pyrolyzed at different HT temperatures and at 600 °C for different HT times. A trend of transition from semiconductive to metallic properties is suggested for the samples prepared above 850 °C.