Carbon fibers derived from poly-(caffeyl alcohol) (pcfa)

Abstract

Poly-(caffeyl alcohol) (PCFA), also known as C-lignin, is a promising new source of both carbon fibers and pure carbon. PCFA can be used to produce carbon fibers by direct electrospinning, without blending with another polymer to reduce breakage. Analyses have shown that the carbon obtained from PCFA is superior to that obtained from other lignins. The fibers formed from PCFA are smoother, have a narrower diameter distribution, and show very low defects. The PCFA can be obtained by extraction from plant seed coats. Examples of these plants include the vanilla orchid, Vanilla planifolia, and Jatropha curcas. The fibers may be formed through electrospinning, although other methods for forming the fibers, such as extrusion with a carrier polymer, could be used. The fibers may then be carbonized to increase the carbon yield.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . Carbon fibers, consisting of:
 100 wt. % PCFA, wherein the carbon fibers are produced by extracting poly-(caffeyl alcohol) (PCFA) from a plant to produce extracted PCFA and electrospinning the extracted PCFA to produce the carbon fibers.   
     
     
         2 . The carbon fibers of  claim 1 , wherein the carbon fibers have a narrower size distribution than carbon fibers comprised of 100 wt. % Kraft lignin. 
     
     
         3 . The carbon fibers of  claim 1 , wherein the carbon fibers have diameters of about 10.5 μm to about 14 μm. 
     
     
         4 . The carbon fibers of  claim 1 , wherein the carbon fibers are further produced by carbonizing to produce carbonized PCFA carbon fibers, and wherein the carbonized PCFA carbon fibers have higher crystallinity than carbonized carbon fibers comprised of 100 wt. % Kraft lignin. 
     
     
         5 . The carbon fibers of  claim 4 , wherein the carbonized PCFA carbon fibers have higher purity than carbonized carbon fibers comprised of polyacrylonitrile (PAN).