Historical review of processing, microstructures, and mechanical properties of PAN-based carbon fibers

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon fibers were first developed in 1959 and now play an important role in producing light-weight structural materials. World annual production was over 60,000 t in 2015 and the market has been growing at ~10% per annum. Furthermore, there is considerable scope for tailoring their composite properties by selecting suitable carbon fibers. Therefore, it is important to understand the mechanical properties of carbon fibers themselves, such as Young’s modulus, tensile strength, and compressive strength. The studies on graphite and rayon-based carbon fibers were first undertaken, followed by the studies on high-performance types of PAN-based carbon fibers. We review the microstructures, and mechanical properties of PAN-based carbon fibers.