X-Ray Studies on Preferred Orientation in Carbon Fibers

Abstract

The preferred orientation in carbon fibers of cellulosic origin as a function of the temperature of heat treatment has been determined by x-ray diffraction. It is shown that the preferred orientation in the starting material is destroyed with the destruction of the cellulose structure; only a very small orientation effect remains and stays nearly constant up to a heat-treatment temperature of about 1000°C. Further heating produces a reorientation which can attain and even surpass the degree of preferred orientation in the starting material. No evidence for a direct correlation between the preferred orientation in the starting material and the carbonized product has been found.