Characterization of surfaces of carbon fibres by scanning tunneling microscopy

Summary

The experimental results obtained by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) studies of different carbon fibres are presented and discussed. The comparative analysis of the STM images at scales from hundreds of nanometers down to atomic scale reveals the differences of surface features for carbon fibres processed from different precursors, polyacrylonitrile fibres and pitch. The high temperature treatment of carbon fibres — the so-called graphitization process — as used to improve the stress modulus induces drastically increased ordering phenomena at the atomic level. Structural information obtained by STM on the surface of the fibres as well as in their cross sectional areas is discussed in comparison with known results of diffraction studies. STM appears to be the new powerfull technique for the detailed structural studies of surfaces of carbon fibres. The perspectives of these studies are under discussion.