In October 2019, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation developed a PAN-based carbon fiber with a single fiber diameter of up to 10μm. At present, the diameter of general-purpose carbon fiber is 5-7μm per fiber, and the new product increases its diameter to 10μm, which represents a significant increase in fiber diameter.
This carbon fiber has a tensile modulus of 240 GPa and a tensile strength of 4,200 MPa, and is a general-purpose carbon fiber. The provisional name of this new carbon fiber material is 34-550. Since each fiber contained in the material is relatively thick, it is very suitable for resin transfer molding, pultrusion and other molding methods. The material is also very suitable for continuous fiber reinforced intermediate materials using high-viscosity thermoplastic resins.
It is worth noting that its fiber diameter will help prevent bending, so that the molded product has better compression characteristics; in addition, the cross-section of the fiber is relatively flat, which allows heat to better penetrate the center of carbon fiber during carbonization or graphitization.